The Next Level
by Phantom 1
Summary: A new evil force has invaded Lyoko and it's up to Jeremie and the others to stop them.
1. Friends and Foes

Code: Lyoko  
  
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Okay, in an attempt to be more diverse, I'm trying my hand at a Code Lyoko fic. Now I don't know a whole lot about Code  
Lyoko. The last new episode I saw (at least I think it was new, it's hard to tell) was the one where they materialized  
Aelita but had to send her back to Lyoko because Xana has implanted a virus in her or something along those lines. Anyway,  
this is my interpretation of a sort-of-second season. If any of you know more about Code Lyoko than I do (which is probably  
all of you), feel free to speak up. I won't accept any flames or insults, but I will take constructive criticism.  
Well, with that said, enjoy.  
  
Oh yeah, one more thing, I don't own Code Lyoko  
  
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Jeremie's Diary: August 20th  
  
It's hard to believe that summer vacation is almost over. At the risk of sounding like a nerd, I actually can't wait  
until I get back to school. This summer, my parents took me on a vacation to the coast. They said they wanted to  
get me away from computers. I hope Aelita isn't too upset at me. I know I said I would promise to look for a counter-  
virus for her this summer but my parents sprung this surprise vacation on me.  
  
I hope Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd are doing all right. Ulrich and Odd had to stay at school and Yumi's just a day student.  
I noticed Yumi and Ulrich getting pretty close. Don't get me wrong, we've all gotten close since we were introduced to  
Aelita, Xana, and the incredible world of Lyoko. But those two seem to have gotten really close. Sometimes I see them  
holding hands when nobody's looking or walking through the courtyard with their arms around each other's waist. In a  
way, I'm actually jealous. I wish I could do that same thing with Aelita.  
  
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Jeremie sighed as he put away his laptop. He was almost back at school. A new school year was about to start and  
Jeremie was excited. A new year meant new classes, new people to meet, maybe even make friends with. But more  
importantly, Jeremy was excited to see Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd again and talk to Aelita. Jeremy was in a great mood and  
he doubted that anything could change that. Heck, Xana could turn the whole school into chickens and even that   
wouldn't dampen his mood.  
  
"We're here, Jeremie," his father announced as their Lexus pulled up to the gate of the school. Jeremie took his  
stuff and exited the car.  
  
"Bye, Mom, Dad, I'll e-mail you guys sometime tonight." He ran through the gateway before his parents could go  
through their extremely long list of reminders.  
  
The first familiar face that Jeremie spotted was Jim, the P.E. Coach. Jeremie recalled how Jim single-handedly fended off   
a barrage of Xana's monsters when he used the scanner to materialize them. It was just too bad Jeremie had to use the   
past-reverse program to erase his memory of the experience. But he did develop a new respect for the burly man since  
then. Jim was overseeing the new students as they moved into their new rooms. "Ah, Jeremie, welcome back."  
  
"Hey, there, Jim, are these the new students?"  
  
"Yup, a new bunch of slackers who think they can challenge the almighty Jim!" Jim pounded his fist into his palm. "I'll  
show them!"  
  
"They won't know what hit 'em," Jeremie said with a sly smile. "Hey Jim, have you seen Yumi, Ulrich, or Odd."  
  
"Well, I don't know about Yumi or Ulrich, but Odd was heading over to the cafeteria last I checked."  
  
"Why am I not surprised," Jeremie cracked. "Thanks, Jim!"  
  
Jim was right on the money. Odd was about to enter the cafeteria. When he saw Jeremie, he let out a whoop and dropped to  
both knees, hugging Jeremie's legs. "JEREMIE! Thank you, thank you, thank you, finally I'm no longer alone!"  
  
"Get a grip, Odd, I haven't seen you this emotional since Jim threatened to take away your video game."  
  
"It's Yumi and Ulrich! They're acting so chummy it's sickening." Jeremie burst into laughter. It was then that the  
subject of Odd's complaint came around the corner. Both of them were wearing karate gis and black belts. They were  
talking and laughing very animatedly.  
  
"Hey, guys," Jeremie greeted.  
  
"Jeremie!" They both ran up to him. Yumi gave him a little hug and Ulrich bopped his shoulder. "How was vacation?"  
Yumi asked.  
  
"All right, but it's sure great to be back."  
  
"Aelita was asking about you a lot," Ulrich commented. "She probably thought you were taken by Xana or something."  
  
Jeremie pushed his glasses up partly to hide his blush. "My parents didn't allow me to bring my laptop on vacation.  
They made me leave it at home." He decided to change the topic. "So how did the exhibition match go? Did someone win?"  
  
"She did," Ulrich said painfully.  
  
"Don't feel so bad," Yumi said placing an arm around her friend. "You're just out of your league."  
  
"Sorry I wasn't there."  
  
"Don't worry," Ulrich said holding up a sleek-looking cell phone. "I took pictures."  
  
"So your parents finally got you that camera phone you've been pestering them for?"  
  
"Yup. And I've got tons of pictures, including one of Yumi laying on the floor."  
  
Now it was Yumi's turn to blush. "That was a trick punch."  
  
"The Judge didn't think so," Ulrich commented. The boys laughed with Yumi joining in a few seconds later.  
  
"Hey Jeremie, better contact Aelita before she blows a circuit worrying about you," Odd suggested.  
  
"Oh yeah, thanks, Odd, see you guys at dinner."  
  
"Bye," the three called.  
  
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He was watching them, he always was watching them, looking for an opening, seeing what he could do to stop them once and for all. And for two of the humans, he had the perfect idea. And perhaps, if this worked, he could make other preparations.  
  
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It was evening and Ulrich and Odd were just hanging out in their room. Odd was petting Kiwi and Ulrich was tossing a  
soccer ball up and catching it with his hands. Odd noticed that his roommate was unusually quiet.  
  
"I'm going to do it," Ulrich announced.  
  
Odd and Kiwi turned to look at him. "Make sure you use the bathroom," Odd reminded him.  
  
Ulrich gave him a glare. "No, not that. I... I want to tell Yumi how I feel about her."  
  
"Man, I don't think you need to tell her anything," Odd cracked laying down using Kiwi for a pillow (much to Kiwi's  
chagrin). "The way you two act, I'm surprised you haven't started picking out curtains." Ulrich glared at him again,  
wishing he hadn't told Odd. Odd got up again. "But hey, if you feel that strongly about it, do it, man. You two have  
been beating around the bush long enough, I think it's time you plow through."  
  
"But..." Ulrich paused. Kiwi took this opportunity to jump from Odd's bed to Ulrich's. Ulrich pet him. "What if...  
what if she doesn't feel the same way. I could really screw things up if I get it wrong."  
  
"Dude, you're thinking too much," Odd said. "To me, romance is like swimming. You can waddle around in the shallow end  
all you want, but you're not really swimming until you go into the deep end."  
  
Ulrich had to admit, Odd made a good metaphor. However... "Like you're one to talk, you don't have someone that you like  
romantically."  
  
Odd acted like he was struck in the chest. "Ouch, I don't know what hurts more, that comment or one of Xana's Tanks."  
The two laughed hysterically.  
  
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"Hey, Aelita," Jeremie called as he booted up his computer. "It's me, Jeremie. Are you there?"  
  
Immediately, the red-head appeared on his screen. Her eyes looked greatful to see him. "Jeremie, oh thank goodness. I  
was afraid that Xana had captured you."  
  
"Actually, it was my parents," Jeremie said with a smile. "They captured me and hauled me on a vacation."  
  
"From the way you talk, it didn't sound like they captured you."  
  
"It certainly felt like it. So, speaking of our favorite computer virus..." Jeremie's tone had what Aelita had come to  
recognize as sarcasm. She tried it herself a couple of times but it just didn't feel right.  
  
"Well, I've felt a few pulsations, but nothing significant. Looks like even Xana's on vacation."  
  
"Fine by me," Jeremie agreed. "The longer he remains dormant, the better it is for all of us." Jeremie tried to hold   
in a yawn. "Well, I better start on trying to find an antivirus."  
  
Aelita gave him that smile that Jeremie loved so much. "You look tired, Jeremie. You should rest. Don't worry, I'll   
still be here."  
  
Jeremie wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder, but obviously that was impossible. Instead, he smiled and said,  
"You're right, Aelita. I'll see you in the morning." Jeremie shut down his computer and climbed into bed. His last  
consciousness thought was: How can we be so close, yet so far?  
  
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The next day, all the students were required to go to the nurse for yearly examinations. Yumi hated it. She would  
rather go see her own doctor but it was school policy.  
  
"Hello, Yumi," the nurse greeted. "How was your summer?"  
  
"Okay," Yumi said indifferently. She and the nurse made small talk as the nurse performed her examination.  
  
"Well, Yumi, you seem to be in good health, I just need to give you a hepititis shot." Yumi groaned. She hated shots.  
Her arm would feel sore for days. She lifted her left arm out of her shirt. As the nurse scrubbed Yumi's arm with  
alcohol, neither of them noticed a strange black smoke come out of a socket and went into the needle that the nurse  
was going to use. "Now, this won't hurt a bit." The nurse positioned the needle at the top of Yumi's wrist and pressed  
the liquid in it into her bloodstream.  
  
Suddenly, Yumi began convulsing in pain. She grunted as she felt something take ahold of her. Something that felt...  
evil. Yumi fell to the ground and pulled herself into a fetal position.  
  
"Yumi! Are you okay?" Just as quickly as it started, it stopped and Yumi stood up, her back to the nurse. "Yumi, I'm  
sorry, I didn't know the injection would do that."  
  
"It's all right," Yumi droned.  
  
"Even so, perhaps it's better if you stay here so we can re-examine..."  
  
"I'm fine!" Yumi snapped. The nurse recoiled in fear. There was something... sinister in Yumi's voice. Yumi left.  
Once she was outside, she took her cell phone and called Ulrich. "Ulrich, it's Yumi. I need to see you... ten minutes,  
at the manhole."  
  
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Ulrich hurried through the forest. Yumi sounded so solumn over the phone, he hoped it wasn't anything serious. On the  
other hand, this was his chance to tell her how he feels.  
  
He saw her standing by the manhole. Her head was lowered in what looked like mourning. "Yumi, what's wrong? Your call  
sounded urgent." Yumi was quiet. "Is it a Xana attack?"  
  
"In a manner of speaking," Yumi replied as she raised her head to face Ulrich.  
  
Her eyes were glowing red.  
  
"Yumi!" Ulrich gasped. Without any warning, Yumi rushed at Ulrich and kicked him in the stomach. Ulrich fell against a  
tree. Ulrich rolled away before Yumi could follow through. He got up and backed up blocking Yumi's kicks and punches.  
  
"What's going on here?" Ulrich demanded to know.  
  
"At last," the creature that was controlling Yumi said. "After all the times you have defeated me, I will get my  
revenge."  
  
"All the times..." The final piece of the puzzle clicked. "Xana!"  
  
"What's wrong, Ulrich-dear," Xana-Yumi said mockingly. "Aren't you happy to see me?" Xana-Yumi got under Ulrich's  
defenses and slugged him in the stomach.  
  
{I can't believe Xana would do something like this,} Ulrich said, "I have to warn Jeremie and Odd!" Ulrich took out his  
cell phone but Xana-Yumi kicked it out of his hand. It landed on the grass far away from Ulrich. Yumi-Xana fired off  
a reverse punch-jab combo which Ulrich blocked. {It's like Xana's enhancing Yumi's abilities.} Yumi leaped up and  
attacked the side of Ulrich's head with a kick. Ulrich fell to the side, fortunately, near his cell phone.  
  
{Somehow, I have to warn the others. They have to shut down the tower in order to free Yumi. But I can't do anything  
without having Xana counter it. Maybe... wait, the camera! If I take pictures and send them to Jeremy, he can get Odd  
and Aelita on the case.} Ulrich quickly snapped off a bunch of pictures. One was of Yumi in the middle of a kick, another  
was of Yumi coming at him with a punch. Again, Xana-Yumi kicked the cell phone out of Ulrich's hand. The camera was   
able to snap two more pictures. One was of Ulrich and Yumi grappling. The other was the ultimate action shot. Xana-  
Yumi side-kicking Ulrich so hard that he actually flew in an arch before crashing to the ground.  
  
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"Jeremie!" Aelita cried. Jeremie looked towards the screen that showed Aelita.  
  
"Aelita, what's wrong?"  
  
"It's Xana, he's woken up!"  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive! I can see the activated tower in the distance. He's not even trying to hide it! Please hurry!"  
  
"All right, Aelita, hang on." Jeremie looked around to make sure nobody heard their conversation. Then he closed his  
laptop and ran from the library. He tried dialing Ulrich and Yumi's cell phones but neither of them answered. "That's  
strange," he muttered. "Where could they be? I hope Odd isn't busy too."  
  
Fortunately, Odd wasn't. He was lounging in his room when Jeremie burst in.  
  
"Jeremie, what's wrong?" Odd asked.  
  
"Xana's woken up! We need to get to Lyoko!"  
  
"Okay. Come on, Kiwi!" The two humans and one dog hurried out of the dorm.  
  
And ran straight into Jim.  
  
"Now just hold it right there, you two," Jim said. "Where do you two think you're going?"  
  
"Jim, this isn't a good time," Jeremie said as he tried to go around Jim. But the big guy blocked him.  
  
"You two up to no good, I see."  
  
"Jim, this is a matter of life and death," Odd protested.  
  
"Yeah, I bet. Look, the two of you have to get back to your rooms right now!" Kiwi barked attracting Jim's attention.  
When Jim turned to look at the dog, Kiwi grabbed onto Jim's pant leg. "Hey, let go you four-legged fleabag!" Kiwi let go  
then ran around and grabbed Jim's other pant leg. Kiwi pulled Jim in circles until the big man lost his footing and fell  
down.  
  
"Good boy, Kiwi," Odd congratulated. Kiwi barked and ran to join the two children. The two used the back entrance to the   
sewers. Once there, Odd grabbed his skateboard and threw it down on the ground. Jeremie followed with his scooter.  
"Hey Jeremie, what about Yumi and Ulrich?"  
  
"I couldn't reach them."  
  
"Knowing those two lovebirds, they're probably making out somewhere."  
  
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Ulrich struggled to stand. His plan to signal Jeremie and Odd fell. Now, it appeared that he would have to fight Xana-  
Yumi. Ulrich remembered the exhibition match they participated in the other day. Yumi wiped the floor with him, and now  
that Xana was powering her up, Ulrich couldn't help but wonder if this is how he would fall.  
  
"All right," he said dropping into a defensive stanse. "Kid gloves are off!" Xana-Yumi chuckled and came at him with a  
kick. Ulrich blocked it with both of his hands then threw her leg up causing Xana-Yumi to fall on her back. Ulrich moved  
in to punch her lights out... but he couldn't. Despite the glowing red eyes, that was still Yumi, still the person he  
cared about. He couldn't hit her.  
  
Xana-Yumi backflipped to her feet and fired off a barrage of kicks.  
  
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Jeremie and Odd ran inside the abandoned factory, swung down the ropes and into the elevator. There was no time for  
prelude. Jeremie stopped at the control room while Odd continued down to the scanner room. As Odd waited for Jeremie to  
power up the scanner, he heard Jeremie's voice say, "I'm sending you to the desert region, Odd. Aelita's already there.  
Hook up with her and shut down that tower."  
  
"You got it, Chief," Odd said.  
  
"Don't call me Chief," Jeremie retorted. "Transfer... Odd." Odd entered the scanner. "Scanner... Odd." Jeremy  
uploaded Odd's avatar. "Virtualization!"  
  
Odd materialized in a vast desert. Just like Jeremie said, Aelita was waiting for him.  
  
"Hey, Aelita," Odd greeted. "Good summer?"  
  
"It was until Xana woke up. I found the tower. But there's a team of blocks guarding it."  
  
"At least we know it's the right tower." The tower was across a rock bridge a thousand yards from where Odd materialized.  
But three block monsters were guarding the bridge. Aelita and Odd hid behind a rock as they assessed the area.  
  
"Do you have any ideas?" Aelita asked.  
  
"I have one, but we need a distraction," Odd said.  
  
"I can do it," Aelita volunteered.  
  
"Be careful, Aelita."  
  
"Thanks, Jeremie, I will." Aelita ran from behind her hiding spot. Immediately, the blocks began to converge on her  
location. Meanwhile, Odd leaped onto the rock and fired three of his arrows. To the surprise of Aelita and the boys,  
all three struck their target and the blocks were destroyed.  
  
"Well, that was easy," Odd commented.  
  
"Um... Odd, think again." Odd turned around and saw more blocks along with several crabs coming up on them from behind.  
  
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Ulrich was thrown to the ground again. Still, he struggled to get up. It was time to use his last card.  
  
"Yumi, I know you're in there. You have to fight him. Yumi, it's me, Ulrich. Remember? Remember all the fun times we  
had? Remember that we fight Xana, to stop him from destroying Aelita? Remember what happened to us in Lyoko? What we  
almost shared? I care about you, Yumi." Xana-Yumi stopped and for a moment, Ulrich thought his words have broken through.  
Then she chuckled and delivered a powerful uppercut. Ulrich felt himself lose consciousness.  
  
Xana-Yumi chuckled. Then her eyes glazed over and she fell unconscious as well.  
  
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"Odd, you're down to twenty lifepoints," Jeremie reported. "And you're almost out of arrows to boot."  
  
"Tell me some good news, why don't you?" Odd cracked as he fired another arrow. "Aelita, get to the tower!"  
  
"Right... huh?" Aelita looked up at the tower as it suddenly went dim.  
  
"What's wrong?" Odd asked without looking at her.  
  
"The tower just deactivated," Aelita said.  
  
"That's strange," Jeremie commented. Usually Xana fights so hard to keep Aelita from the towers. But not only did he not  
put up any resistence, but he abandoned the tower."  
  
"Maybe he realizes he can't stop us," Odd said blowing on his fist and rubbing it on his chest.  
  
"No," Jeremie said. "It's something else. But what..."  
  
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Yumi moaned and opened her eyes. She was in the forest near the manhole that they use to get to the factory. "What...  
how did I get here?" Yumi tried to remember what happened. She was in the nurse's office, getting a shot, then...  
nothing. Perhaps she had an allergic reaction to it.  
  
She then saw Ulrich laying prone on the ground. "ULRICH!" Yumi ran up to him and took his head in her lap. "Ulrich,  
what happened? Who did this to you? Ulrich, speak to me!" Ulrich's shallow breathing told her that he was still alive.  
But the bruises and bloody lip showed her that his injuries were serious. Yumi quickly looked around for some sign of the  
culprit and spotted Ulrich's cell phone. "Ulrich's phone. Maybe he took some pictures of his attacker." Yumi accessed  
the picture gallery on the phone.  
  
And almost dropped the phone in shock as the pictures of her attacking Ulrich appeared on the screen. "No... it can't...  
it can't be... but... it is... I attacked him... I attacked Ulrich." Yumi felt tears swell up in her eyes. She fell to  
her knees. "Ulrich... forgive me."  
  
It was then that Jim came barreling through the bushes. He heard sounds of physical contact and came to see what was going  
on. He looked from Yumi to the fallen Ulrich. "Yumi, what happened here?"  
  
Yumi quietly closed the cell phone so that Jim wouldn't see the photos. "I... I don't know, Jim, I just... heard screams  
and came running. I saw him laying there and..." Yumi's voice broke up as she placed the phone in her back pocket.  
  
Jim stared at Yumi. She was hiding something, he could tell it. But... he couldn't worry about that now, Ulrich needed  
medical attention. He decided to let Yumi off the hook this time. "Come on, let's get Ulrich to the Infirmery."  
  
Yumi nodded and followed behind Jim, crying all the way.  
  
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"Xana knew what he was doing from the beginning," Jeremie said as he spoke with the others in his room (Aelita and Kiwi   
were also there). Yumi had unconsciously show them the photos. "He knew that Ulrich wouldn't risk attacking Yumi  
and that made him an easy target."  
  
"Xana left the tower so that we wouldn't shut it down and use the time-reversal program to undo the damage he's done,"   
Aelita continued. "Once he was sure his job was completed, he left."  
  
Jeremie took over. "Xana knew he couldn't attack us outright, so he decided to break our spirits. Once we were defeated  
from the inside out, he'd be free to do whatever he wanted with us."  
  
"It was all just a set up by Xana to break us down," Aelita finished.  
  
"Fortunately, Jim didn't find out the truth," Odd said. "All he knows is someone attacked Ulrich. Obviously, the  
Principal's going to look into this."  
  
"These photos are the only evidence of the attacker," Jeremie said. "I'll erase them."  
  
Odd nodded, then noticed Yumi sitting on Jeremie's bed, her legs pulled up against her chest, her arms wrapped around them.  
"Hey Yumi, you've been quiet. What do you think of all this?" Yumi was quiet, she just stared ahead.  
  
"Odd, I think Yumi needs some time to be alone," Aelita said. "She probably still feels guilty over what she did to  
Ulrich. Perhaps someone should take her home."  
  
"I will," Jeremie volunteered.  
  
"All right," Odd agreed. "See you tomorrow, Jeremie. Bye, Aelita!"  
  
"Bye, Odd," Jeremie and Aelita said. Aelita then said, "Jeremie, I'll leave too."  
  
"Okay, Aelita, bye." As Aelita's face disappeared from the screen, Jeremie went over to Yumi and offered her his hand.  
"Come on, Yumi, I'll take you home." As if in a trance, Yumi allowed Jeremie to take her hand. Jeremie lead her home.  
Yumi's parents weren't upset with her, not when Jeremie told them the truth behind Yumi's stunned state: that she  
witnessed a friend of hers seriously hurt. They nodded a thanks to Jeremie and put her to bed.  
  
But Yumi didn't fall asleep. In her mind, she could hear four words: I care about you. 


	2. Upgrade Pt 1

Code: Lyoko  
  
Upgrade  
  
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Once again, I don't own Code: Lyoko. Some French company does I think. Well, here it is, enjoy.  
  
Abstract: Is this the final battle with Xana? Or the beginning of something much more sinister?  
  
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Jeremie and Odd walked into the Infirmery where Ulrich wa still recovering from the injuries he suffered at the hands  
of Yumi, who was under the control of Xana. Ulrich's head and stomach had been bandaged and there were bandaids on his  
arms.  
  
"Hey, Ulrich, how do you feel?" Jeremie greeted.  
  
"Like one of Xana's tanks ran over my head," Ulrich replied holding his head.  
  
"Actually, that's not far from the truth," Odd commented which earned him an elbow in the rib from Jeremie.  
  
"Did you guys manage to shut down the tower?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"That's the strange thing. As soon as Aelita and I were at the tower, he just left."  
  
"Xana seems to be a lot more sneaky than he was last year," Jeremie said. "Since it wasn't Aelita who shut down the tower,  
we couldn't use the past return program. If we did, you probably wouldn't have been in this mess."  
  
"Oh." Ulrich seemed to be in deep thought before he asked, "How's Yumi?"  
  
"Still kicking herself for kicking you," Odd replied.  
  
"We haven't seen her in a few days," Jeremie commented. "I wouldn't be worried except our classes start very soon..."  
He paused. "Ulrich, you have to understand that it was Xana attacking you, not Yumi."  
  
"Well you know that and I know that, but I'm not sure if she does. Or believes."  
  
It was then that the nurse came in. "Odd, Jeremie, what are you two doing here?"  
  
Odd replied, "We just wanted to see how Ulrich was doing."  
  
"Oh yes, that reminds me, Ulrich, you received this card." She handed Ulrich a white envelope. Ulrich opened it up and  
took out the home-made card. It was the words "Get Well" in cursive surrounded by a large pink heart.  
  
"Who's it from?" Odd asked as Ulrich opened the card.  
  
He groaned. "Oh God, it's Sissi!"  
  
"What's wrong, Ulrich-dear, don't you like my get-well present?" Came Sissi's high-pitch voice.  
  
But the person who stepped through the door wasn't Sissi, or rather, it didn't look like Sissi. The girl who stepped  
through the door had her dark hair cut pixie-short, kind of like Aelita. Her figure was filling out and her walk was  
sultry. She was dressed in a tight pink halter top with a heart on the center and form-fitting jeans.  
  
"Sissi?" Ulrich, Odd, and Jeremy asked at the same time.  
  
Sissi sauntered past Odd and Jeremy and went to Ulrich's bedside. "You boys look like you're surprised to see me."  
  
"Shocked is a more accurate term," Jeremie commented.  
  
"Sissi, what happened to you?" Odd asked.  
  
Sissi laid a finger on Odd's nose. "It's a little something called growing. Try it sometimes, you'd be surprised how  
many more friends you have when you do it."  
  
"Ouch, one point to Sissi," Jeremie cracked. Odd scowled at him.  
  
Sissi turned to Ulrich. "Ulrich-dear, when I heard about your accident, I was deeply upset, especially considering who  
did it."  
  
"I thought you destroyed those photos," Odd whispered to Jeremie.  
  
"I did it last night," Jeremie whispered back.  
  
"You know who attacked me?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"Well, the hub-bub around school is that it was Yumi."  
  
"What?!" Ulrich shouted which accidentally triggering a shot of pain in his rib cage. He winced.  
  
"Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are now," Sissi conversed.  
  
"What makes you think it was Yumi?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"Jim said he saw Yumi by an unconscious Ulrich. Kind of suspicious don't you think?"  
  
"Just because Yumi was seen by him doesn't mean she did it," Odd defended.  
  
Sissi patted Odd on the head like he was a ten year old. "Odd, Odd, Odd, I know it may be hard to admit but you know what  
a short temper Yumi has. It was only a matter of time before she turned that temper on the people she knows."  
  
"No!" Ulrich shouted. "Yumi would never attack me! She'd never attack her friends! I refuse to believe it! She  
wouldn't..." His voice dropped a couple of notes. "She would never..." His voice trailed off.  
  
The nurse decided to intervene. "I think it's time for you three to head off now, let's give Ulrich time to heal his  
injuries." She pushed the three out.  
  
"Don't you think you went just a little overboard, Sissi?" Odd asked. "You know as well as we do that Yumi would never  
attack Ulrich. They're too close."  
  
"And besides, all you have is Jim's word for it," Jeremie pointed out. "There's no physical evidence that it was her."  
  
"Maybe you two are giving Yumi more credit than she deserves," Sissi said as she walked off. "People do change, you know."  
  
"Maybe on the outside," Odd yelled back.  
  
"Some people will never change," Jeremie said.  
  
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Ulrich laid back in his bed. He knew it wasn't Yumi, it was Xana. Xana in Yumi's body. Still, where was Yumi? Why  
didn't she come see him? Ulrich's camera phone was on the bedside table. He took it and looked through the gallery.  
Jeremy erased the photos of Yumi attacking him but the other photos were still there. Ulrich went to the pictures of the  
two of them while they were at that Karate exhibition match. There was this one picture of Yumi in the middle of a flying  
side-kick at her opponent. Another was one Yumi took of him fighting a kid over twice his height. A third was of the two  
of them. Yumi proudly displayed her first-place trophy while Ulrich wore his second-place medal. As Ulrich went through  
the gallery, he amazed at how happy and care-free they were. Even though they knew that Xana could attack at any time,  
they were still happy. Maybe because they were with each other.  
  
Ulrich closed his cell phone and turned on his side. "Yumi, where are you?" He quietly asked. "If there's anyone I'd  
rather have by my side, it's you." He cuddled the phone close to him.  
  
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Yumi was in one of her first classes of the new school year. But despite that, she couldn't concentrate as the teacher  
read the syllibus. All that ran through her mind was Ulrich, and the photos of her beating Ulrich to a pulp. She heard  
Jeremie and Odd trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault, it was Xana's. It's always Xana's fault. Still, it was her  
hands that punched him, her legs that kicked him, her attacks that left him battered and broken on the forest ground. At  
the exhibition match, they pulled their punches, not only because it was the rules, but because they didn't want to  
seriously hurt each other. Now, she not only hurt him, but hurt him so much that he needed to be hospitalized.  
  
"Yumi?" Yumi looked up at the teacher. The teacher tilted her head, noticing Yumi's pale complexion. "Yumi, are you  
feeling well?"  
  
"N... No. May I please use the restroom?"  
  
"Of course." Yumi got up and ran out the room. Rather than head for the restroom, she headed outside for some fresh air.  
As Yumi held her head between her legs, a picture fell out of her pocket. Yumi grabbed it before the wind could carry it  
away. It was a picture of the four of them, taken last year, just before Xana's first attack. She and Ulrich were   
sitting on a bench. Jeremie was leaning over the top and Odd was standing proud like he always did. Ulrich's arm was  
hanging behind the bench but from the angle the picture was taken, it looked like it was around her shoulders. All of  
them had happy smiles on their face.  
  
Yumi held the picture close to her and cried her eyes out. She prayed for Ulrich to forgive her.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aelita laid on a stone bridge that she created. She couldn't sleep, being computerized, so all she could do is go over  
facts in her mind. What Xana did infuriated her. This wasn't like when he took control of the teddybear, the train, or   
even the rats and insects. He took control of a girl and made her ferociously attack a friend of them both. Xana had  
gone too far this time.  
  
The sound of gears penetrated her thoughts. She looked down to the stone path underneath her and saw two of Xana's block  
monsters moving rapidly.  
  
{Where could they be off to?} Aelita wondered. She jumped down and tailed them stealthly. The Blocks were heading for a  
tower. But this one was much different. It was incredibly big and had the Lyoko symbol on it.  
  
Xana's symbol.  
  
{I found it! I found where Xana was situated.} Aelita's first thought was to tell Jeremie, but she felt that this might be  
her only chance to end it once and for all. Xana had hurt her and separated her from those she cared about. It was time to  
end it.  
  
The tower was in a valley. The drop was about thirty feet. Aelita swan-dived off the cliff, did a roll and landed on her  
feet.  
  
"Xana!" She called out attracting the attention of the two dozen monsters that surrounded the tower. "I'm calling you  
out! You hurt me and my friends. All I want is to join them in the real world. But you and your selfish ambitions  
prevent me from doing that. You even tried to kill my friends! It's time we settle this once and for all! One-on-one,  
you and me. Nobody to aid either of us!"  
  
The symbol on the tower glowed and suddenly sprouted a head-less body. It landed in front of Aelita. It groaned.  
  
"This is it, only one of us is going to come out of this alive," Aelita said more determined than she had evern been in her  
existence. Xana suddenly created a red spear and tried to stab her. Aelita jumped back. She concentrated and a rock  
pillar appeared in front of Xana. Three more appeared and tried to hold Xana down. Xana just flexed his muscles and  
destroyed them. He swung his spear again and again, Aelita tried to jump over it. But she underestimated the height of  
the spear and it caught her foot. She fell down. Aelita knew she had to keep moving. Xana was strong, but she was fast.  
Aelita ran towards Xana and dove through his legs. She rolled and quickly stood up again. Turning around, she summoned  
her powers to break apart the cliff that she was once standing on and fired rock after rock at Xana's back. The first six  
or seven hit him but then Xana turned and started batting them away. "As Odd would say, that's got to hurt."  
  
Suddenly an energy blast struck Aelita in the back. She fell to one knee. "That... was a cheap shot," she said. But as  
she looked up, she saw that Xana had also been struck and down on one knee. Aelita found that odd. Xana wouldn't strike  
himself down, nor would one of his monsters attack its master. So what...?  
  
Aelita looked up and saw a strange purple figure standing over them. It had a human shape, but it's content was of purple  
lightning. It laughed and launched another purple energy blast. Aelita and Xana scattered as the assembled monsters  
opened fire. Monsters appeared on the purple figure's side. They looked like fish and skeletons. The skeletons fired a  
black smoke from their mouths which melted a crab.  
  
Aelita looked up at Xana. "I see. We'll have to put our fight on hold until we destroy this thing." Xana commanded his  
fleet of hornets to attack while Aelita formed spikes and fired them. The spikes manage to destroy some of them but the  
hornets were destroyed by the black smoke. The fish began flying down. The moment they hit something, both the object  
and them were destroyed.  
  
"We have to run," Aelita said. Her use of the cliffside as a weapon had caused a large hill to form. Aelita used her  
powers to even it out so it was easier to climb. Several of the "Blow Fish" attacked her but Aelita quickly dodged.  
  
Xana leaped up to the air and struck all of the skeletons down with his spear. But more begn appearing. Xana's monsters  
weren't faring so well. Their lasers weren't having any effect on these new monsters.  
  
Aelita saw that a Blow Fish was rapidly heading towards her. She tried to run but her feet tripped and she fell. She could  
only watch as the Blow Fish got closer and closer.  
  
"Jeremie!" She cried.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jeremie woke up in a cold sweat. He just got a very bad feeling. He looked down and saw something in his lap. It was one  
of the pictures he took with Aelita when she was here. The v-shape cut on the top showed that it just ripped from the tack  
that was holding it and fell in his lap.  
  
Now the bad feeling just got worst.  
  
Jeremie ran to his computer. "Aelita, can you hear me? Aelita! Aelita, talk to me!"  
  
"Jeremie?" Came Aelita's voice though Jeremy couldn't establish a visual. "I need help!"  
  
"Is it Xana?"  
  
"Yes... I mean no... I mean Xana's here but he's not the problem!"  
  
"Calm down, Aelita. What's going on."  
  
Aelita screamed as the Blow Fish got closer. Suddenly a large red spear stabbed it and exploded it before it could hit its  
target. Aelita looked up in sheer surprise at Xana. "Xana..."  
  
"What was that, Aelita? What about Xana?" Jeremie's voice called out to her.  
  
"Jeremie, both Xana and I are under attack by some strange monsters. We both need help."  
  
"Hang on, Aelita, I'll go get help."  
  
"Hurry, Jeremie!" Jeremie typed a text message to Yumi's cell phone. All it said was 'Meet at Factory, emergency. J.'  
He then got dressed and ran to Odd's room. Since Ulrich was sleeping in the Infirmery, Jeremy didn't have to worry about  
involving him despite his injuries. He burst into the room and shook Odd.  
  
"Odd, wake up!" Jeremie half-shouted.  
  
Odd rubbed his eyes and looked up. "Jeremie, what's up... besides you?"  
  
"Aelita just sent me an S.O.S. She and Xana are being attacked by something."  
  
"Wait... she AND Xana? I thought those were the only two beings in Lyoko?"  
  
"So did I. But if we don't hurry, there won't be anyone left, not even Xana."  
  
Odd quickly dressed and ran with Jeremy to the factory. Yumi was waiting at the entrance. Jeremie was glad to see that  
Yumi's depression wasn't so deep that she would ignore a distress call from Aelita. The three entered the factory and went  
to the control room. Jeremie accessed the super computer and ran a scan of Lyoko. It didn't take long to locate them.  
  
"Okay, I found them, there at the desert region. Go!" Yumi ran back to the elevator but Odd stopped. He whispered to  
Jeremie, "What about Ulrich?"  
  
"I don't think Ulrich could survive the virtualization process. Don't tell Yumi, she's got enough to worry about."  
  
"Right, I got'cha." Yumi and Odd rode down to the scanners.  
  
"Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Odd." As Yumi and Odd entered their scanners, Odd saw Yumi's determined expression. She  
looked like how she used to be, but even Odd could see that was just a disguise.  
  
"Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization!"  
  
Yumi and Odd were transported into the desert region of Lyoko. Immediately, they noticed the dark clouds swirling around.  
"I don't like the looks of this," Odd commented. Yumi spotted Aelita running towards them, being chased by skeletons and  
fish. "Laser Arrow!" The arrow struck the Blow Fish that was about to touch Aelita.  
  
"Yumi, Odd, am I glad to see you guys," Aelita cried.  
  
"Never fear, Princess, your knights in cat suit and kimono are here to save you," Odd joked.  
  
Yumi was more serious. "What's going on? Where's Xana?"  
  
Aelita pointed to a huge explosion in the distance. "He's trying to protect his tower. But it's not working." Aelita  
looked down. "I know you guys are going to hate me for saying this, but we might need Xana's help on this."  
  
"Xana? Help? Nyuh-uh," Odd shook his head. "Those two words don't even work together unless it's 'Xana's helping himself  
to our hydes," Odd cracked.  
  
"Odd, Xana's fighting for his survival just as much as I am," Aelita explained. "Besides... he saved my life."  
  
"I get it!" Yumi realized. "Xana's connected to Aelita through that virus he implanted. If Aelita's destroyed, then so  
is Xana. And if Lyoko's destroyed, then Xana dies which would mean Aelita dies too." Aelita nodded.  
  
"Wow, so Xana's trump card actually became his achilles' heel," Odd said. "Because now he needs to protect himself AND  
Aelita."  
  
"Please, Yumi, we must help him," Aelita pleaded.  
  
"All right, let's go."  
  
"Xana better appreciate what we're trying to do for him," Odd muttered as the three took off towards Xana's fortress.  
  
Odd leaped through the air and shot ten laser arrows at the back of a skeleton that was attacking Xana. All ten struck the  
skeleton and it was destroyed.  
  
"Odd, don't use so many of your arrows," Jeremy chided. "There's still a lot of enemies around."  
  
"It's not like I have any choice, Jeremy. It took ten of them just to destroy one of these things."  
  
"Not good. I'll reload you but it'll take time."  
  
Aelita created several boulders which Yumi then moved with her telekinesis. She sent them out in all directions and all of  
them hit an enemy.  
  
"You want some, fish face?" Odd asked as he stared down a couple of Blow Fish. "Well come and get it!" He ran towards  
the Blow Fish ready to slice them with his nails. Suddenly Xana shoved him to the side and swung his spear at them.  
"Hey, we're trying to help you here, you ding bat!"  
  
"Odd, you're not suppose to touch the fish," Aelita explained. "If you do, they'll explode taking you with them!"  
  
"Whoa," Odd gasped then turned to Xana. "Uh... sorry about that." Xana just engaged in battle with a skeleton.  
  
The purple figure that was the conductor of this abnormal orchestra placed his arms out and shapeless energy beings  
formed. They lashed out tentacles which wrapped around Yumi. Yumi felt a thousand volts of electricity surge through  
her. "Ulrich," she called out though nobody else could hear her.  
  
Except one.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich sat up in his bed. Yumi was in trouble, he just knew it. But he wanted to make sure. If she was in trouble, it  
would most likely be in Lyoko. Ulrich picked up his cell phone and dialed Jeremie's room. After about seven rings,   
Ulrich gave up and decided to call the Factory.  
  
Jeremie gasped when he realized he was receiving a call from Ulrich. "Ulrich?"  
  
"Jeremie," Ulrich said without greeting. "I have a feeling there's something bad happening in Lyoko."  
  
"You don't know the half of it," Jeremie commented. "Yumi, Odd, Aelita, and Xana are all engaged in battle with some   
sort of Invaders."  
  
Ulrich frowned. He didn't care much for Xana, especially not after what he made Yumi do. But Yumi was in trouble, he had  
to help.  
  
"I see," he said neutrally and put down his cell phone without turning it off.  
  
"Look, Ulrich, I know you want to help, but you're still too weak. There's no guarantee that you'll survive the  
virtualization process," Jeremie explained. He could hear nothing. "Hello? Ulrich? Ulrich, are you there?" All he   
heard was dead air.  
  
Jeremie had that bad feeling again.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich limped into the tunnels underneath the Factory using a stick for a crutch. His whole body still hurt. But... he  
couldn't stand living with himself if something terrible happened to Yumi. He climbed out through the manhole in front of  
the Factory. He had to shimmy down the rope instead of swinging. He rode the elevator down to the control room.  
  
Jeremie gasped upon seeing Ulrich. "Ulrich, you shouldn't be out of bed," Jeremie said.  
  
"If the situation is as dire as you said, Jeremie, then Yumi and Odd are going to need all the help they can get."  
  
"But there's no guarantee that you'll survive the virtualization process. You could end up weaker than you already are."  
  
"Jeremie, my mind's made up. Please help me down to the scanner." Jeremie sighed in fustration and took Ulrich down to   
the scanner room. Ulrich staggered into the scanner while Jeremie returned to the control room.  
  
"Hang on, guys, reinforcements are on the way."  
  
"Did I just hear him right?" Odd asked. "Jeremie, unless you have a tank batallion waiting in the third scanner, I don't  
see how any reinforcements could help us."  
  
"Who would he send as reinforcements anyway?" Aelita asked.  
  
"Beats me. The only one who's out there is..." Odd gasped.  
  
Yumi also got it. "Oh no."  
  
"Transfer, Ulrich. Scanner, Ulrich. Virtualization!"  
  
Ulrich appeared five feet off the ground. Unlike his usual graceful manner, he fell on his butt.  
  
"Careful," Jeremie said. "YOu just lost ten life points from that fall."  
  
"Sorry," Ulrich apologized as Odd and Aelita helped him up. "Hey, guys."  
  
"Ulrich, you shouldn't be here," Aelita said. "You're still weak."  
  
"From what Jeremie told me, you'll need all the help you can get."  
  
"Dude, I know how much you like to play hero," Odd said as he fended off a Blow Fish with his arrows. "But these guys are  
more dangerous than any of Xana's monsters."  
  
Ulrich looked up at Yumi. She seemed busy attacking Blow Fish and Skeletons with her fan. But Ulrich could see that she  
was trying to avoid his glance. The new monsters suddenly stopped and formed a circle around the kids and Xana.  
  
The purple being landed and pointed at Ulrich. It let out a strange gargling noise.  
  
"Uh... what was that?" Odd asked.  
  
"I think he wants us to hand control of Lyoko over to him," Aelita said.  
  
"Aelita, you can understand it?" Yumi asked.  
  
"No... but... why else would it attack both me and Xana unless it wanted Lyoko."  
  
"Yeah, well, look, you grape-flavor ghoulie," Ulrich said. "We're not handing anything over to you, not now, not ever!"  
  
The purple being let out a series of grunts that sounded like laughter. Then the monsters attacked.  
  
"Impact!" Ulrich stabbed a Skeleton but nothing happened. Ulrich quickly withdrew his sword and tried stabbing it again.  
"Triplicate!" One Ulrich became three and charged a Skeleton. But the Skeleton quickly caught on and slugged the  
center Ulrich causing him to fall back and the others disappear.  
  
"Ulrich just lost half his life points with that punch!" Jeremie gasped. "These monsters are strong."  
  
"Or Jeremie's right and Ulrich's weaker because he was virtualized while his body was still injured," Aelita added which  
caused Yumi to look away in shame.  
  
"Tell me something I don't know," Ulrich said as he struggled to get up. He was about to attack again but Xana stepped  
in his way. "What do you want?" The symbol on Xana's chest began to glow. For some reason, Ulrich understood. "I  
see... fine, then. Do your worst!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Ulrich, are you crazy?"  
  
Xana's spear began to glow. Ulrich was risen into the air. A strange white mist cumulated around Ulrich and transformed  
into a polygonal crystal prison. There was no trace of Ulrich's features, just a general frame.  
  
"Ulrich, no!" Yumi cried. She ran up to the crystal and pounded on it. "Ulrich, please! Come back to me, Ulrich!  
Ulrich... NO, please don't go! Please..." Yumi turned to look at Xana. "How could you? Haven't you toyed with us  
enough? It's bad enough you attached yourself to Aelita like a lifeline and constantly try to destroy our world! But do  
you have to take away our friends too? We're trying to help save you, and this is how you repay us? You truly are a  
virus, with no feelings! No humanity what-so-ever, just a cold, empty, machine." The purple being ordered its monsters  
to attack. The monsters ganged up on Xana and forced him away from the others.  
  
More Blow Fish appeared in the air. They all shot at Xana like missiles. As hard as Xana tried, they struck it with  
incredible force.  
  
Aelita gasped and fell to her knees. "Aelita, what's wrong?" Odd asked.  
  
"Xana's life force is fading," Jeremie warned. "If he dies, so does Aelita and Lyoko! You guys have to save Xana."  
  
"Save Xana, I'd never thought I'd hear that sentence," Odd muttered. He ran off firing laser arrows.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Ulrich, why did you allow Xana to strike you like that?" Jeremie muttered. He then checked Ulrich's status. "That's  
strange. His life points hadn't gone down and his energy's holding. If that wasn't meant to destroy him, what was it  
for?"  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Xana's beating had made Aelita weak but she managed to pull herself over to Yumi's location which was underneath the  
crystal that was once Ulrich. "Yumi, are you going to be all right?"  
  
Yumi shook her head. "I never even got to apologize."  
  
"You don't need to apologize," Aelita argued. "Nothing was your fault. It was Xana who was working the controls."  
  
"I just... I never even got to tell him that I care about him."  
  
"I think he knows," Aelita said. "I believe the reason he came down here in his condition was to protect you. Jeremie  
told me that he asked about you while he was recovering. Perhaps if you were there, his recovery would've gone by faster."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"In my research on your world, I discovered that sick people surrounded by loved ones heal much faster than if they were  
alone. You care about Ulrich. It seemed like when you two were together, you were incredibly strong. Deep down, I know  
that Ulrich cared for you just as much."  
  
[I care about you.] Yumi could recall those four words. They were said by Ulrich. Yumi went up to the crystal prison  
while Aelita gathered her remaining strength and ran to help Odd and Xana. "Ulrich... I'm sorry for not being there.  
I was beating myself up. Now I know what a true friend you really are." Aelita raised a stone column and shot it  
at several Skeletons. A Blow Fish destroyed it. "I know you care about me, Ulrich. And... I care about you."  
She placed her hand on the crystal. "Please... return to us, Ulrich." Quietly, she said, "Return to me." As much  
as she hated how selfish it sounded, it was what she wanted more than anything in the world.  
  
"Yumi, look out behind you!" Odd cried. Yumi looked up to see a Skeleton rapidly descending on her. She had no time to   
activate her fan and her life points were too low for her to use her telekinesis. She could only raise her arms and try   
to block.  
  
The crystal prison began to glow, forcing the Skeleton away from Yumi. Everyone watched in awe as the crystal began to  
dissolve. Someone wearing black jumped down in front of Yumi and swung something. An energy wave destroyed over a third  
of the Skeletons and Blow Fish.  
  
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Who or what just saved them? Is it Ulrich? Or some more powerful force. Read the next chapter to find out. 


	3. Upgrade Pt 2

Code: Lyoko  
  
Upgrade (Pt. 2)  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
To me, Code: Lyoko is the French trying to be Japanese for an American audience. That's just a stupid non-sequitir  
way of saying I didn't create it nor do I own it.  
  
Abstract: Everyone must escape Lyoko when a destructive energy wave destroys Xana's tower. Who will survive?  
And who will not?  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Previously on Code: Lyoko, As Ulrich recovered from his attack and Yumi sunk into a depression over her hand in  
doing it, Aelita and Xana were attacked by some strange new monsters. Odd and Yumi came to help out but even with  
Xana fighting as well, it was hard to destroy all of them. Risking permanent injury and even death, Ulrich entered  
Lyoko to help his friends out. Xana encased him in a crystalline prison leaving Jeremie and the others wondering  
whose side Xana was really on. All of a sudden, the crystal dissolved and someone or something with tremendous power  
destroyed a whole bunch of the enemy monsters.  
  
Want to know what's going on? What this incredible force is? What is the enemy they're all fighting? Read on.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The crystal dissolving was a beautiful sight indeed. Each bit transformed into specks of light which was somehow  
repelling the evil monsters away. A figure jumped down from the center of the former crystal and swinging his arms,  
caused an energy wave to disintegrate over a third of the enemy forces. The figure then turned revealing his face  
to Yumi, Odd, Aelita, Xana, and the rest of the enemy forces.  
  
It was Ulrich. His avatar had changed somehow. It was now black with a gold Lyoko symbol on the front. A gold sash  
was around his waist. He carried two swords instead of one. He looked taller and, in Yumi's personal opinion, more  
handsome.  
  
"What is going on here?" Jeremie asked. "Is that Ulrich? How did his avatar change?" A beeping noise came from his  
side monitor. It was an Instant Message, but it was from the last one he expected one from: Xana. He read it:  
"Upgrade on avatar designate: Ulrich complete. Recommend avatar upgrades on designates: Aelita, Odd, and Yumi?"  
Jeremy called to the others. "Guys, listen, that crystal wasn't design to destroy Ulrich, it was designed to upgrade  
his character!"  
  
"I think you're a little late on that, genius," Odd commented.  
  
"Xana wants to upgrade you guys too."  
  
In Lyoko, Aelita turned to look at Xana. "Is that true?" Xana nodded. "Even me?" Xana nodded again.  
  
Odd turned and looked at Aelita. "Think we should do it?"  
  
"What do we have to lose?" Aelita asked back. Xana began to gather white mist in the air. Odd and Aelita leaped into  
it and they were encased in crystals as well.  
  
During all this, the new Ulrich dashed forward and destroyed a Skeleton with one swipe of his sword, demonstrating  
Xana's upgrades to his avatar. He destroyed three more skeletons in five seconds.  
  
This was all too much for Yumi to take in. She was still trying to absorb the fact that Xana wasn't trying to kill  
Ulrich, only increase his power. Now he's doing the same thing to Aelita and Odd. What was going on here? What's  
Xana's plan?  
  
The crystals surrounding Odd and Aelita dissolved and Yumi saw that their avatars were upgraded as well. Odd's  
stripes were navy blue and orange. His claws were much longer and now mounted on wrist bands. His tail was wiggling as  
if it had a life of its own.  
  
Aelita was now sporting a tie-dye sleeveless shirt with a high collar, belt, navy blue skirt and shin guards over black  
boots. She carried a large staff with a jewel mounted on top of it. They both had the Lyoko symbol, Odd's on his back  
and Aelita's was her belt buckle.  
  
"Whoa, take a look at me!" Odd gasped. "I actually look cool."  
  
"As Ulrich would say, for once," Aelita chuckled. "Hurry, let's destroy these things." The two split up to each take  
on the enemies.  
  
"Laser Crescent!" Making a slicing motion with his hand, Odd formed an arc-shaped energy bolt and sent it flying at  
several Blow Fish.  
  
Aelita launched invisible waves which prevented several Blow Fish from attacking her. She then stuck her staff in the  
ground and caused a vortex to open and swallow them.  
  
Yumi looked up at Xana. The giant just stared at her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Ulrich.  
  
"It's okay, Yumi," he said in a gentle voice. "I know you don't quite trust him yet. I still don't trust him. But for  
now, we need his upgrades."  
  
Yumi nodded and turned to Xana. "Okay, I'm ready." Xana's spear gathered white mist in the air. Yumi jumped into the  
air and was also enclosed in a crystal. While encased, she could feel warmth. She could also feel the emotions around  
her. She felt Odd's craftiness and optimism. She felt Aelita's desperation and desire to protect Lyoko. She felt the  
maliciousness and ferocity that the enemy displayed. And she felt Xana's emotions.  
  
Loneliness and a desire for that which he knows he can not have. Yumi thought that perhaps... Xana's reasons for what he  
does wasn't maliciousness, but loneliness.  
  
All that was drowned out by a new emotion: caring. And it was coming from Ulrich. And it was aimed towards... her!  
Yumi relished in the emotion, seeking comfort in it.  
  
Then, just as it all came to her, so did it all end. Her crystal enclosure dissolved and her upgraded avatar was  
revealed.  
  
Yumi was now dressed in a black vest with arm warmers and leggings. She had two miniature crossbows on her forearms and  
they were armed with a spiked wheel-shaped blade. Her hair was longer than it was in the real world. Like the others,  
she looked a little older than her old avatar.  
  
Yumi aimed her crossbows at the Skeletons and fired. They sliced the Skeletons in half before returning to their resting  
places on the crossbows.  
  
The purple being let out a fierce roar and flew into the air. The remainder of its forces followed.  
  
"Oh yeah, and stay out!" Odd said.  
  
"Wait a second, guys," Jeremie said. "I don't think they're leaving."  
  
"Then what..." The answer came in the form of a large purple shaft of energy that destroyed Xana's fortress. The  
explosion spread from the ruins of the fortress towards the kids and Xana.  
  
"Run!" Jeremie shouted. Everyone took off but the wave was rapidly approaching them.  
  
"Jeremie," Aelita called as Xana pulled ahead of her. "You have to bring Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd out of Lyoko."  
  
"But what about you?" Jeremie protested.  
  
"Forget about me," Aelita said. "Xana and I will most likely be destroyed. You must carry on our fight!"  
  
"No, Aelita, I don't want to lose you!" Jeremie argued.  
  
"Jeremie, thank you. Thank you, for talking to me and working so hard to bring me to your world and showing me what a  
wonderful place it was. I was glad to have you for a friend."  
  
"Aelita..." Jeremie's voice cracked.  
  
"I know," Aelita said with a smile. Everyone stopped as they saw they were coming to a cliff. The wave was still  
heading towards them. With tears in his eyes, Jeremie keyed in the log out commands. "Log out, Odd. Log out, Yumi.  
Log out, Ulrich." They disappeared one by one until only Xana and Aelita remained. Aelita got ready to accept her  
fate.  
  
A low groan came from behind her. She turned just in time to see Xana swing his spear and slice Aelita in two. She  
disappeared in the same fashion as the others. As soon as she disappeared, Xana dropped his spear and transformed into  
black smoke and disappeared into the sky.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich took a deep breath as smoke was expelled from the scanners. To his surprise, he found himself feeling better  
than he did when he entered. It was like Xana's upgrade affected more than his avatar, it affected him.  
  
The doors opened and Ulrich stepped out. He ammended his primary analysis when he realized that his legs were a  
little wobbily, most likely from being in the scanner.  
  
The first thing that met him in the real world was Yumi's arms as she hugged him tightly. "Ulrich, I'm so glad you're  
all right."  
  
Ulrich smiled at her. "Are you kidding? I've never felt better. It was like being in the scanner healed me."  
  
"Ulrich, you... I mean I... we..." Yumi couldn't articulate more than two words per sentence.  
  
"It's all right, Yumi," Ulrich assured her. "If you want me to forgive you, I will. I'd rather have you for a friend  
than have you depressed."  
  
Ulrich's scanner closed as Yumi pondered his words. He wanted her for a friend, not something more? But... what  
about those feelings she flet he had. Was she mistaken?  
  
Jeremie's voice interrupted Yumi's pondering. "Welcome back to Earth." The three warriors turned to see Jeremie. Yumi  
went up to her. "Jeremie, what happened to Aelita and Xana?" Jeremie just lowered his head in remorse and shook it. He  
was trying his best to hold out his tears.  
  
"I... I saw her status card disappear."  
  
Yumi leaned over and embraced the boy protectively. She knew how it felt to lose someone you were in love with. And if  
there was anything he needed right now, it was a shoulder to cry on. The dams of Jeremy's eyes burst open flooding Yumi's  
shirt with hot salty tears.  
  
"I... I know I always bragged about celebrating when Xana was defeated," Odd said. Ulrich patted him on the back.  
"But... right now I don't feel like celebrating."  
  
"Neither do I," Ulrich said. "Especially not after the cost we had to..." A loud thump came from Ulrich's scanner.  
Everybody turned and stared horrified at the scanner.  
  
"Ulrich... you were the only one in that scanner when you came out, right?" Odd asked. Ulrich nodded.  
  
Yumi put on a brave face. "I'm going in. Ulrich, cover me."  
  
"Right." Odd threw Ulrich a metal bar to use as a weapon and then took cover by his scanner with Jeremy. Yumi stood in  
front of the scanner. "Okay, Ulrich open it up." Ulrich hit the button. Smoke filled out and Yumi covered her mouth  
so that she wouldn't inhale it. As the smoke cleared, she could make out a figure curled up in a fetal position.  
She gasped. Ulrich leaned over her shoulder.  
  
"Holy cow!"  
  
"I don't believe this," Yumi added.  
  
"Hey, let me see, let me see," Odd protested. He looked over Yumi's position. "Whoa!"  
  
"Odd, stop staring," Yumi chided.  
  
"You can't blame me." Odd turned to look at Jeremie. "Jeremie, it's for you." Curious, Jeremy went over to have a look.  
Since the others took all the free space, he had to duck under Yumi's arm which was leaning on the side of the scanner's  
doorway. His face was one of shock, then joy.  
  
There, laying curled on the floor naked, was Aelita.  
  
"Aelita's alive," he said happily.  
  
"And she's here to boot," Yumi added.  
  
"Oh man, this is so great!" Odd said.  
  
Aelita opened up her eyes and saw the others standing over her. "Jeremie? What happened? Where am I?"  
  
"You're on Earth, Aelita."  
  
"Earth!" Aelita exclaimed sitting up.  
  
"Whoa," Yumi said. "I think we better get you some clothes before we do anything else."  
  
"Here," Ulrich said taking off his jacket. Yumi put it over Aelita's back and zipped it up.  
  
"You still need some pants," she said looking at Odd's baggy jeans with belt.  
  
"Oh no," Odd said shaking his head. "I'd like to keep my pants, thank you very much."  
  
"Odd," Ulrich said in an exasperated tone.  
  
"Oh, all right, all right. Jeremie, could you block prying eyes." Jeremie stepped in front of Odd as he took off his  
pants. He passed them to Jeremie who passed them to Yumi who helped Aelita put them on. Once finished, they looked at  
Aelita's make-shift outfit.  
  
"It'll have to do," Yumi said. "At least until I get her to my house. I have some old clothes that'll fit her  
perfectly."  
  
"In the mean time, I'll do a scan of Lyoko," Jeremie said. "I'll try to determine how Aelita got here."  
  
"Oh no you're not," Ulrich said. "Our classes start in the morning and after what we went through, we all need our  
sleep."  
  
"Oh yeah, that's right," Odd agreed. "We're all in the same class this year, aren't we? Well that should make things  
interesting."  
  
"Like you're one to talk," Yumi countered Ulrich. "You're still on sick leave, remember."  
  
"I think once the nurse sees how better I am, she'll excuse me. Wow, I never thought I'd actually be glad to start  
classes."  
  
"Okay, I think Xana's upgrade must've warped your mind," Odd cracked. "You're actually glad to start school?"  
  
"Speaking of Xana, you think he's alive as well?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"Considering how Aelita's here, I'd say he is," Jeremie said.  
  
"Honestly guys," Aelita said seeking warmth in Ulrich's jacket. "I hope he is. After what we just faced, we're going  
to need all the help we can get to defeat it, even from Xana."  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Five minutes later, the kids exited the manhole cover. Jeremie lead a pantless Odd back to his room while Aelita   
recalled the route to Yumi's house. Before they parted ways, Ulrich and Yumi stared into each other's eyes. They knew  
what each wanted to say, but they knew that deep down, they couldn't.  
  
"Well," Ulrich said.  
  
"Well," Yumi repeated. They smiled at each other and blushed. "I... I guess I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Today you mean," Ulrich corrected checking his watch. "It's four in the morning."  
  
"Yeah," Yumi agreed. "Ulrich... I'm... glad you're back with us."  
  
"I'm glad you're back to your old self again," Ulrich came back. The two continued staring at each other for a while  
before they both decided to head back.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
He was watching them. He was always watching them. But this time was different. He knew that if he wanted to survive,  
he would have to rely on them. He only hoped he could.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The next day was bright and sunny. The perfect day to start a new school year. Odd walked into his first new class,  
Western History, wearing a blue T-shirt with an orange lightning bolt on it and khaki shorts. He yawned. After he  
returned, he only got around four hours of sleep before he had to get up and get ready.  
  
"Hey, Odd," Ulrich greeted. He was sitting in an empty set of desks wearing a black T-shirt and Bluejeans. His cell  
phone was clipped to a navy-blue belt with a slide buckle.  
  
"I see they finally released you," Odd said sitting at a set of desks next to Odd.  
  
"Like I said. Once the nurse saw how better I was, she released me."  
  
"Ah." Odd looked around. Some of the faces he recognized although there were some changes. Sissi sporting her  
teenage pixie look was sitting towards the back giving Ulrich lustful glances. Her "posse" was with her of course.  
Herb's acne had cleared up and Nicholaus had a new hair cut. Nicholaus looked glum, probably because he was starting  
classes again. Herb was sneering at Ulrich. Odd also saw some new faces. Younger kids who looked intimidated by their  
elders.  
  
"Yumi, over here!" Ulrich called. Yumi was in a black tank top and jeans. She sat next to Ulrich blocking Sissi's  
view of him. "Hey, guys."  
  
"How did your parents take to Aelita?" Odd asked Yumi.  
  
"They didn't mind. I just told them she had a fight with her parents and would be staying with me until they could  
enrole her at school."  
  
"Sounded like it was easier than the last time," Ulrich commented.  
  
"It was," Yumi confirmed.  
  
Ulrich and Odd then noticed Jeremie. The boy was also dressed in new clothes, a blue and white striped collar shirt and  
khakis. He seemed jittery about something.  
  
"What's with Jeremie? He's acting like Kiwi when he got fleas," Odd commented.  
  
Yumi smiled knowingly, which was lost on Ulrich and Odd. "You guys will find out soon enough."  
  
The teacher came in but with her was the principal.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," he greeted. "Welcome to another school year. I know how much you're all excited to be here..."  
Someone blew a raspberry and everyone laughed. The principal coughed, "Um... yes... well, anyway, I'd like to introduce  
a visitor. She's very interested in our school and if nothing bad happens..." the principal shot a glance around   
the room before continuing, "she might join us." The principal turned outside the door. "You can come in now." To  
Odd and Ulrich's surprise (thought they later thought that they shouldn't have been), Aelita walked in. She was  
dressed in a red jacket and purple skirt. She carried a yellow backpack with her.  
  
"Jeremie, would you like to introduce our guest to the class?"  
  
Jeremie also got up and stood at Aelita's side. "Everyone, I like you to meet Aelita Lyoko. She's my step-sister."  
  
"Lyoko?" Odd asked Yumi.  
  
"Step-sister," Ulrich also asked.  
  
Yumi just pointed to Jeremy and Aelita. "Their idea, not mine."  
  
"Jeremie, please show Aelita to her seat," the teacher instructed and began handing out a syllibus. Jeremie took Aelita's  
hand showed her seat which was, not coincidentally, next to him.  
  
Odd rolled his eyes. "This is going to be a long year."  
  
"Don't say that, Odd, it'll just come true."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
They had no name. They were invaders, parasites, that feed off of the hard work of others. And right now, they were  
looking to expand themselves. They quickly learned the ways of the new world they entered and learned that it had  
gateways to another world. They would use those two worlds as a stepping stone to engrave themselves permanently onto  
the stone block of the universe. And all who opposed them would perish.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The group had a break before they were to separate. Jeremie was going to take Aelita to his room before going off to his  
next class. Aelita was going to try to communicate with Xana in Lyoko. They decided that with Aelita now a real human,  
they would need a new contact in Lyoko. Xana seemed to be the obvious choice. Aelita knew that she could convince Xana  
to do it. After all, they were connected. Ulrich and Odd were going to head for lunch and Yumi was going to head for  
gym.  
  
As expected, Sissi and her crew paid them a visit.  
  
"Ulrich-dear, you're all better," Sissi said with delight. "I'm glad that my card was the cause of your recovery."  
  
"Believe me, Sissi, with Ulrich, it takes more than a card to heal him."  
  
"Uh... thanks, Odd... I think."  
  
Sissi just humphed at Odd and leaned down to look at Aelita who was sitting on a bench. "And you, Miss Aelita Lyoko.   
If you know what's good for you, you'll try to stay away from your step-brother's loser brigade."  
  
Aelita just looked at Jeremie. "Jeremie, is this that Sissy you've been telling me so much about?"  
  
"The one and only," Jeremie confirmed.  
  
"Oh. That's strange. From the way you described her, I imagined her to be older with long hair." Aelita turned to  
Sissy. "Your hair is very short. Are you suffering from some sort of disease? I've heard that there are several  
diseases which causes one's hair to get shorter and even fall out." Aelita seemed proud to demonstrate her knowledge on  
Earth culture but was unaware of the implications on what she said which made it all the more funny.  
  
Sissi fumed. "Listen, little miss Goo-Goo Doll. I can be either your best friend or your worst enemy. You do NOT want  
me as an enemy. My Daddy's the principal."  
  
"Oh, I'm not worried," Aelita objected. "I've faced down much scarier-looking monsters."  
  
By this time, the others were in the middle of a severe laughing fit. Odd was practically rolling around on the ground  
with laughter. Yumi needed to lean on Ulrich's shoulder so she wouldn't join Odd on the ground. Sissi's face got so red  
that it looked like her ears were about to shoot out steam. She turned and stomped away.  
  
Aelita looked confused. She looked at Jeremie. "Did I say something wrong?"  
  
Odd was finally able to get control of himself (but just barely). "On the contrary, Aelita, you said just the thing to  
get Sissi off our backs."  
  
"Hey, maybe we could get Xana to give her an upgrade," Yumi suggested.  
  
"Nah," Ulrich replied. "It probably wouldn't work." And all five of them burst into another fit of laughter.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Just who are these powerful monsters that invaded Lyoko? The mystery will be investigated as well as Xana's alleigence  
in the next chapter. 


	4. Trustworthy

Code: Lyoko  
  
Trustworthy  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Before we begin, I just wanted to say that I think the music on the show is very catchy (kind of a techno 80's  
dance mix combo). Someone let me know when the soundtrack comes out. Oh yeah, and Code Lyoko is owned by France 3  
and Antefilms (I think those are the names).  
  
Abstract: The kids try out their new upgrades at the same time trying to decide whether or not Xana can be trusted.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Previously on Code: Lyoko, Xana upgraded everyone's avatars to fight this new menace. They received new powers,  
better weapons and new costumes. They were doing well until a destructive energy wave destroyed Xana's tower and  
tried to destroy them as well. Jeremie was able to pull Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich from Lyoko but Aelita and Xana were  
trapped. Back on Earth, the gang mourned Aelita's lost until something plopped down into Ulrich's scanner: it was  
Aelita! Xana had given her the power to materialize in the real world when defeated much like the others.  
Everyone was overjoyed, especially Jeremie. Not wasting the opportunity, Aelita adopted the surname "Lyoko" and  
joined the others for a new school year.  
  
What do you think Aelita's biggest problem would be: defeating the invading force that has stricken Lyoko or trying  
to fit in as a human?  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
It was the very afternoon of the day Aelita joined Jeremie and the others at school. After classes had ended for the  
day, Aelita, Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich headed for the factory. Jeremie had already sent a call to them saying he was  
already there. Aelita was taken in by the underground tunnels.  
  
"So this is how you guys get to the factory. This secret passageway is amazing!"  
  
"Uh... Aelita, I'd hate to tell you this, but... we're in the sewers," Odd told her.  
  
"So?"  
  
"Let's just say that people don't normally travel this way," Yumi said with a smile. The group arrived at the   
factory. The first thing they came across when they arrived in the scanner room was a Roachster walking by   
carrying a wrench. Everyone was shocked. They noticed that several of Xana's monsters have materialized  
in the real world and were now working on constructing something. They were mostly Roachsters, Blocks, and  
Crabs.  
  
Jeremie, who was busy holding two wires together while a block used its laser to fuse them together, noticed  
them. "Oh, hey, guys."  
  
"Um... Jeremie, what's going on?" Odd asked.  
  
"Well, seeing as how now there are four who can travel to Lyoko instead of three, I felt it was necessary to  
construct a fourth scanner. Fortunately, the blueprints were on file so I started construction on one."  
  
"And... this?" Ulrich gestured to the monsters.  
  
"It was Xana's idea. He thought construction would go by quicker if I had some help." Odd had a skeptic look  
on his face. Yumi and Ulrich were indifferent. "You guys ready for the test-run?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Ulrich said.  
  
Jeremie had a small smile as he leaned back against the wall. "One thing though, until the fourth scanner is  
completed, two of you will have to share a scanner. So, any volunteers?"  
  
Odd immediately raised his hand. "I volunteer Yumi and Ulrich."  
  
"Hey!" They both protested.  
  
Aelita also raised her hand. "I second it."  
  
Ulrich and Yumi turned to look at Jeremie. He still had a sly smile as he also raised his hand. Yumi and  
Ulrich blushed.  
  
"Do human's faces always do that?" Aelita asked.  
  
"Only when they're in loOOWWW!" A passing Roachster accidentally stepped on Odd's toe. "Hey, watch where  
you're going!" The others laughed and Ulrich mentally thanked Xana for sending that Roachster to divert the  
attention from Yumi and himself.  
  
Jeremie got up and dusted himself off. "All right, here we go."  
  
"Hey Jeremie wait," Odd called as he joined Jeremy in the elevator. He closed the door but stopped Jeremy  
from hitting the button. "Are you sure it's wise to allow Xana to have so much freedom? I mean don't forget  
all the times he tried to kill us."  
  
"Believe me, Odd, I feel the same way you do. But first of all, the Invaders attacked Xana too so I doubt  
they could be in league with him. And second, he did upgrade the avatars and gave Aelita the power to become  
human. He trusts us to help him save Lyoko. I think it's the least we can do."  
  
Odd still wasn't sure. It was hard to ignore all those months of being attacked by rats, bulldozers, crows,  
earthquakes. And the high-speed almost train crash. It was hard to ignore all the times he came close to  
destroying them. Odd re-opened the door and stepped to the scanner on the right.  
  
Jeremie returned to the control room and got ready. "Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ulrich.  
Transfer, Yumi."  
  
In the scanner, Ulrich and Yumi stared uncomfortably at one another.  
  
"So... how should we do this?" Yumi asked trying to avoid looking Ulrich directly in the eyes.  
  
"Um... back-to-back?" Ulrich shrugged.  
  
"That... would work." The two pressed their backs against each other.  
  
"This... is just until the fourth scanner is completed."  
  
"Yeah, but until then, we'll... probably have to do this a little bit."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich and Yumi. Virtualization!"  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The four materialized in their upgraded avatars. They were in the forest region of Lyoko near a tower.  
Xana was waiting for them with his monsters including some new ones.  
  
"Okay, Jeremie, we're here," Ulrich confirmed.  
  
"Xana reports that he's ready too." Xana nodded, although since he had no head it looked like he was  
bowing. "Okay, guys, I'm uploading your weapons." The upgrades for the Avatars were so powerful that  
Jeremie wasn't able to upload the weapons. So he decided to put the weapons into a separate program.  
"Upload: Twin Kitanas." Two swords appeared in Ulrich's hands and two sheaths were on his back.  
"Upload: Disk Launchers." Bladed rings mounted on miniature crossbows appeared on Yumi's forearms.  
"Upload: Wrist Claws." Odd's weapon was elongated blades mounted on wrist bands. "Upload: Lyoko Wand."  
A long staff with a jewel mounted on the end was Aelita's weapon. "All right, Odd, you're up!"  
  
Odd pulled in front of the group. Xana ordered several hornets to attack. Odd leaped from tree to tree.  
"Laser Crescent!" A blue arc-shape energy bolt destroyed a hornet. "Laser Crescent! Laser Crescent!  
Laser Crescent!" Odd slashed through the air and used his new energy attack to destroy hornets. He  
didn't even need to aim for the symbol on them.  
  
A tug of his tail was all the warning Odd had. He rolled forward onto a tree just as a tentacle tried  
to skewer him.  
  
"They're called Tentapods," Jeremie explained to the octopus-looking monster on wheels. Odd swung his  
claws and sliced up the tentacles before delivering a Laser Crescent to it. He then landed on his feet,  
his tail sticking up in a z-shape.  
  
"How was that, Jeremie?"  
  
"Not bad, Odd. All right, Yumi, you're next." Yumi set forth to destroy several Blocks and Roachsters  
with her disc. She then faced down a Crab.  
  
"Hey, Ulrich," Odd whispered. "Do you think Xana can be trusted?"  
  
"I personally don't trust him, especially after what he did to Yumi and me."  
  
"Then again, you can't forget the fact that he upgraded your avatars and me," Aelita commented. Ulrich  
and Odd hadn't realized she was listening in. "He also gave me the ability to be materialized on Earth.  
I admit, I was just like Ulrich, but..."  
  
"It's symbiosis," Ulrich explained. Odd and Aelita stared at him questionly. "Xana's only helping us  
because its beneficial to him. After these intruders are taken care of, who knows what he'll do."  
  
"You also can't forget that he and I are connected," Aelita reminded them. "He wouldn't destroy me, that  
would destroy himself as well."  
  
"But do you think people can change on the inside and the outside?" Odd asked.  
  
"In your case, no," Ulrich said with a smile to show he was kidding. "But Xana's a computer virus, and  
viruses can't be changed , at least not by themselves." Aelita lowered her head in thought. "Go, Yumi!"  
Ulrich's cheer brought the three of them out of their private conversation and back to the action.  
Yumi was standing in front of a damaged (but still functioning) Crab. Her hands were making a strange  
gesture, right hand cupping her left, left index and middle fingers sticking up.  
  
"Mystic Aura..." Yumi whispered. A white mist encircled her body. "Reduction!" Suddenly the crab shrunk  
to a quarter of its original size. She then kicked the crab into a tree.  
  
"Too bad, I wanted Crab cakes for dinner," Odd joked.  
  
"All right, Aelita, you're up!" Jeremie announced. Aelita faced off against Blocks. They immediately fired  
their lasers. Aelita twirled her staff and blocked it. She struck her staff on the ground and a hole opened  
up, swallowing them. A hornet attacked her from behind.  
  
"Aelita, only lost two life points," Jeremie reported.  
  
"Sorry, I got caught off-guard," Aelita apologized.  
  
"Don't apologize, Aelita," Jeremie said. "That's what we're here to do, get all the kinks out."  
  
"Well, I assure you..." Aelita aimed her staff at the Hornet. The air around the Hornet seemed to collapse  
on it. It crumpled up and fell to the ground.  
  
"I still don't trust Xana," Odd whispered to Ulrich continuing his earlier conversation. "Even if he's  
still helping us, he's doing it because it'll benefit him in the long run."  
  
"He's doing it because he's lonely," Yumi spoke up startling Odd.  
  
"Geez, do girls like sneaking up on me or something?"  
  
"What do you mean lonely, Yumi?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"The reason he attached that virus to Aelita was because he was afraid of being alone. If Aelita joined us  
in the real world, she would forget all about Lyoko and him. That's why he worked so hard to destroy us,  
so that Aelita would stay in Lyoko with him."  
  
"Yumi, how do you know all this?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"When Xana was upgrading my avatar, I could feel the emotions of those around me. I felt despair and  
loneliness coming from Xana. In some ways, Xana's like a child. All he wants is attention from others and  
gets cranky when people start paying attention to something or someone besides him."  
  
"Now that I think about it," Odd spoke up. "I was feeling a lot of emotions while Xana was upgrading my  
avatar. But I thought those were all mine. It never occured to me that they could be other people's  
emotions, and especially not Xana."  
  
"Ulrich, it's your turn," Jeremie informed him. Ulrich stepped forward and prepared to do battle with a Mega  
Tank.  
  
"Aelita, were you able to feel emotions while Xana was upgrading you?" Yumi asked.  
  
"Why, yes, I was," Aelita confirmed. "It was like a rainbow of different emotions at once."  
  
"Any from Xana?" Odd questioned.  
  
Aelita nodded. "A desire, a desire for something. Something that he can not have."  
  
"That's the emotion that I felt," Yumi said as she watched Ulrich cross his swords.  
  
"Energy Wave!" Ulrich's attack was like Odd's Laser Crescent but much more powerful. It penetrated the blast  
that the Mega Tank shot and destroyed the tank.  
  
"That's the end of the test, everyone," Jeremie announced. "I'll take you guys back now..."  
  
Suddenly two Skeleton monsters dropped down. They blew smoke which destroyed all the monsters that didn't  
participate in the test-run.  
  
"Oh, great," Odd moaned. "It's the Bone Brigade."  
  
"Let's take them, guys," Ulrich said. But Xana held his arm out and stepped forward.  
  
"Guys, I think Xana wants to fight them," Aelita announced.  
  
"Why would he want to take them on solo?" Odd asked.  
  
"Probably to avenge the destruction of his fortress," Yumi guessed.  
  
Xana formed his spear and charged both the Skeleton monsters. He swung his spear several times but the   
Skeletons were very agile. They were hard to hit. Xana summoned a Mega Tank and sent it rolling towards them.  
But the deadly smoke melted it to a puddle of goo. Xana got quicker with his moves. He actually stabbed one in   
the arm. The Skeleton let out a loud roar, then spotted Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita.  
  
"Oh no! Run, guys, they're going to target you with that toxic breath of theirs!" Jeremie warned, but the  
Skeleton was already releasing it towards Yumi.  
  
It probably would've killed her if Xana hadn't jumped in the line of fire.  
  
"Uuuhhhh," Aelita groaned as she dropped to both knees. "Xana... that smoke is draining his life force."  
  
{Xana leapt into the path of the smoke to protect Yumi,} Ulrich realized. {And he did it knowing it would  
weaken his life force. He was willing to sacrifice himself to protect Yumi!} Ulrich started to wonder if his  
primary assumption of Xana was all wrong. He protected Yumi, the very same person who he took control of a few  
days ago. But why? Doing it not only weakened him, but Aelita as well. I doubt he's suicidal. Ulrich came to  
a conclusion: {Xana... Xana just saved a life!}  
  
Yumi was thinking the same thing, but on a more personal level. {I'm still mad at what Xana did to me. But I  
can't let him sacrifice himself just to protect me. We're all a team and we have to protect one another.} Yumi  
made a gesture with her hands. "Mystic Aura... Regenerate!" The white smoke flowed into Xana and his strength  
returned. With a loud groan, he charged the Skeletons again and sliced one of them vertically in two. The other  
jumped back and roared. Several Blow Fish appeared around it.  
  
"Hey, seven against one isn't fair!" Odd protested.  
  
"Well maybe we should make it seven against five," Ulrich said. The others readied their weapons along with  
Xana. Yumi and Odd started out using long-range attacks. That destroyed half the Blow Fish. Aelita set up a  
barrier and Xana threw his spear which destroyed two more. Ulrich finished the rest and the Skeleton off with  
his energy wave.  
  
"Let's hope that'll make those Invaders think twice about dealing with us," Odd said proudly.  
  
"Invaders?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"Hey, that's what you called them."  
  
"It was only a descriptive term, but I guess we can call them Invaders for now."  
  
Ulrich and Yumi went up to Xana. Yumi bowed to him and said, "Xana, thank you... you saved my life."  
  
"I still think you're a creep for all you put us through," Ulrich said. "But... you did save Yumi, and for that,  
I thank you as well." Ulrich held out his hand to shake Xana's. Xana stared at Ulrich's hand. Then the symbol  
on his chest (he didn't have a head) glowed and he let out a long tenor sound. He then got up and walked away.  
  
Aelita gave a little chuckle. "I think that's Xana's way of saying you're welcome."  
  
"I guess I was wrong about Xana," Odd said. "Perhaps we really can trust him."  
  
"I still don't know if he can be trusted," Ulrich said. "But, at least for now, our feud is over. All right,  
Jeremie, take us out of here."  
  
"You got it." The four disappeared.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
When the gang exited the scanners, they saw that the monsters that Xana materialized to work on the fourth  
scanner were still hard at work. Jeremie came down from the control room.  
  
"Good job, everyone," he congratulated. "That was a pretty intense battle.  
  
"So Xana's no longer the bad guy," Odd said. "I guess it's possible for people to change on the outside  
AND the inside."  
  
"Yeah, at the very least, we'll need his help in constructing the fourth scanner," Ulrich said.  
  
Odd gave him a sly smile. "What in such a rush, Ulrich. I thought you wouldn't mind sharing a scanner with  
your giEEOOWWW!" Another Roachster (or perhaps it was the same one) carrying a wire on its head stepped on  
Odd's foot. "You know, Xana may be on our side, but I think he has something against me." The others laughed.  
  
Suddenly Aelita moaned and felt her stomach. Jeremy noticed this. "Aelita, is something wrong?"  
  
"My stomach feels weak, I..." A low grumble came from her stomach. "Oh no! Guys, I think Xana's invaded my  
stomach!"  
  
The others chuckled. "No, hunger has invaded your stomach," Odd corrected. "I'd say it's time to eat."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Yumi agreed as they left the factory. The monsters didn't care.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Wow, Aelita, that's your third piece of chicken," Ulrich counted. "Your appetite is almost as big as Odd's."  
  
Aelita had a look of worry on her face. "Uh-oh, is that bad?"  
  
"Only when you're eating cafeteria food," Odd cracked.  
  
"Sorry," Aelita apologized. "It's just that this is a fascinating action, eating."  
  
"Let's hope you don't end up like Odd and eat everything you see," Ulrich commented.  
  
"Hey!" Odd protested which earned a brief chuckle from Aelita and the others.  
  
"What's your problem, you creep?!" Sissi's voice rang (more like screached) throughout the cafeteria.  
Everybody turned to see Sissi, flanked by Herb and Nicholaus, scowling at a tall boy with dark hair and broad  
shoulders. The strange boy seemed to not even care that Sissi was yelling at her. "You don't just cut ahead of  
someone without even apologizing! You should learn some manners!"  
  
"I'll learn some only when you do," the boy retorted and got up and walked out of the cafeteria without even  
clearing his place.  
  
Sissi grumbled under her throat and stormed back to her own seat.  
  
"Wow, someone actually standing up to Sissy. I haven't seen anything that daring since..."  
  
"Since us?" Ulrich interrupted Odd.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Who is he?" Aelita wanted to know.  
  
"His name's William Lechon," Jim said as he walked up to them. "He's a transfer student, just transferred  
today as a matter of fact. Apparently, he was too good for boot camp so his father decided to send him here."  
  
"Wow, he's one rough dude," Odd observed.  
  
"Yup, I'll enjoy showing him a thing or two," Jim said.  
  
"I guess some can change on the inside, and some can only change on the outside," Yumi commented.  
  
"I trust that," Ulrich agreed.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aelita tries to adjust to being human while Invaders make their first outright attack on Earth in the next chapter. 


	5. Who You Are

Code: Lyoko  
  
Who You Are  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Guys, let me just say thank you for all of the praise that you've given me regarding this series. To tell  
the truth, I'm surprised that I was able to get such a reaction regarding a series that I don't know a whole  
lot about. But also, I'd welcome any suggestions you guys have that I could do to make it better, whether add  
something or change something. Fanfic writing is like professional writing, it's all about what the readers want  
to read. So if there's something you want, please tell me, or at the very least, tell me what you like about it.  
  
With that said, France is owned by Canal... oh, sorry, I meant to say Code: Lyoko is owned by Antefilms and Canalt  
J and france 3. Personally, I think it should be in the normal cartoon category since the animators and artists  
who put it on are French and not Japanese, but like I said in chapter 2, to me, Code: Lyoko is the French trying  
to be Japanese for the Americans.  
  
Abstract: Aelita adjusts to human life and the Invaders make an open attack on Earth.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Previously on Code: Lyoko, the gang had to face challenges both physically and mentally. The physical challenges  
were learning to use their new powers and defeat two Skeletons. The mental challenges was figuring out if Xana  
could be trusted as an ally. That querry was put to rest as Xana used his body to defend Yumi against an attack  
by the deadly Skeletons even though he knew doing so would weaken his life force.   
  
Xana has proved his worth to them, but now it's Aelita's turn to do some proving.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aelita looked around the room she was given. It was a normal single room much like Jeremie's. But it was empty of  
any personal possessions. That was because the only possessions Aelita had were (literally) the clothes on her  
back, and even those were actually Yumi's. Even her bed only had a thin sheet and a pillow as provided by the  
school. For the past few days, she had been staying at Yumi's, at least until Jeremie and Xana did some hacking to  
try to give cause as to why Aelita had next to no belongings and rarely talked about her parents as well as  
register her so she could go to the same school as Jeremie, Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich.  
  
She didn't have class for another half-hour and she had nothing to do. This must be what Odd calls boredom.  
  
Aelita heard a knock on her door and opened it for Jeremie.  
  
"Hi, Jeremie."  
  
"Hi, Aelita." Jeremie turned behind him, "Okay, guys, bring it in." Behind him was Ulrich and Odd carrying a  
huge box.  
  
"Hey, remind me again why we're doing this and not you?" Odd grunted.  
  
"I offered you guys my help and you said you could handle it."  
  
"I had to open my big mouth," Odd muttered as they gently placed the box down by Aelita's desk. Jeremie lifted  
a flat-screen computer monitor out of the box and began setting it up.  
  
"Jeremie, is this..." Aelita began.  
  
"Yup, this is my computer. I think you could use it more than I could."  
  
"But what about..."  
  
"Don't worry, I still have my laptop plus I backed-up all the Lyoko programs."  
  
Ulrich and Odd lifted the tower out of the box which Jeremie began to set up. As they were working, there was  
another knock on the door. Aelita opened up to see Yumi with a basket of clothes and other random items.  
  
"Well, I can see that I wasn't the only one with the idea," Yumi said seeing Ulrich, Odd, and Jeremie.  
  
"Yumi, what's..."  
  
"My parents were going to throw all this away but I convinced them that there's somebody at school who could use  
them more."  
  
"I can't believe this. You guys..." Aelita felt her eyes tear up. "You guys have been so nice to me."  
  
"After all the times you helped us save our world, Aelita, this is the least we could do," Ulrich replied.  
  
Aelita was overcome with joy at the show of support her friends were giving her. She embraced Jeremie tight  
making the bespectacled boy blush profusely. "Thank you, Jeremie, thank you, all."  
  
"Ahem!" Everybody turned to see Sissi standing in the doorway. Aelita forgot to shut it after letting Yumi in.  
"Well, isn't this the cozy bunch."  
  
"Leave us alone, Sissi," Ulrich said.  
  
"Yeah, we're just helping Aelita move in," Odd explained.  
  
"Oooh, you're just helping Aelita move in," Sissi mocked. "What's wrong, can't Aelita move herself in?"  
Sissi stared down at Aelita.  
  
"We're just helping," Yumi said fiercely. "If you want to help, then go ahead. Otherwise make like an egg and  
beat it." Yumi accented her statement by pointing towards the door.  
  
Sissi snubbed Yumi. "Well, if you ask me, if Aelita was any descent human, she would exhibit more independence   
and lose the damsel in distress routine. She seems like a weak little baby to me."  
  
Ulrich said, "Sissi, either leave or I'll kick you out. And you've seen me at soccer games so you know I can  
kick with the best of them."  
  
Sissi turned and walked out of the room like a Princess returning to her chambers after paying a visit to her   
subjects.  
  
"Man, no matter how many times I see her, she still gets my goat," Ulrich commented.  
  
"Hey, I have an idea," Odd said. "Let's hang her underware on the school's antenna."  
  
"No thanks," Ulrich came back. "I'm afraid touching Sissi's underware might curse me."  
  
"Good point. I should've known you wouldn't like going anywhere near Sissi's underware." They then noticed   
Aelita with her head down.  
  
Jeremie placed a hand on Aelita's shoulder. "Don't let her get to you, Aelita," he advised. "She just loves  
putting us down."  
  
"Jeremie's right," Yumi agreed. "You don't know how many times she tried verbally stomping on me. Just let it  
bounce off you, like you're Xana's Mega-Tank and she's one of Odd's Laser Arrows."  
  
"You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" Odd asked Yumi. Yumi shrugged.  
  
"No... it's okay, guys, I don't care what she says." But that wasn't true, everybody could see that Sissi's words  
did affect Aelita, especially the comment about her not being human.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
In Lyoko, one of the towers in the Desert Region started to glow. But this wasn't the red-glow that signified   
being activated, this was a strange green color. The entire plateau that it was on transformed into some sort of  
maze. But this strange transformation didn't go unnoticed. A stone block sitting on top of a cliff suddenly  
sprouted legs and scampered off.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aelita stared at the meat loaf on her plate. Ulrich and Odd were making jokes about how it looked like one of their  
science experiments (or something Kiwi left on Jim's shoe one time).  
  
"What's wrong, Aelita?" Yumi asked. "Aren't you hungry?"  
  
"Um... no," Aelita replied. "I'm not. Is that bad?"  
  
"No, of course not," Jeremie replied from next to her. "Sometimes people just aren't hungry."  
  
"Unless you're like Odd in which case you're a bottomless pit," Ulrich cracked.  
  
"Oh, like you're one to talk," Odd retorted.  
  
Aelita pushed her tray away. "I'm sorry, everyone. Please, excuse me." Aelita got up and started to walk towards  
the door. But Yumi caught her arm.  
  
"Aelita... is this about what Sissi said earlier?"  
  
"Um..."  
  
"Sissi doesn't know the true story," Jeremie said. "That's why she said what she said."  
  
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Odd threw in. "I don't think she'd believe us if we told her where you came from   
anyway."  
  
"Either that or she would tell her father who would probably call some people to take Aelita away and turn her into  
a science experiment," Ulrich said in a casual manner.  
  
Aelita decided it was try to exert some independence like what Sissi suggested. To everyone's surprise, she yanked  
her arm away and ran outside.  
  
Yumi and Jeremie stared at Ulrich. "Nice going, Ulrich, why not just call her an alien while you're at it?" Yumi  
snapped.  
  
Ulrich lowered his head in shame. "Sorry, I didn't realize what I was saying."  
  
"I'll go and talk to her," Jeremie decided. As he got up, Yumi grabbed his arm. "Yumi?"  
  
"Jeremie, I think it's best if we leave Aelita to figure things out by herself," Yumi suggested.  
  
"Why?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"My father always says that you must look inside yourself to figure out who you are. That's what Aelita needs to  
do."  
  
"But Aelita's different! She wouldn't fall under that philosophy!"  
  
"Wasn't that the whole point of all this?" Odd asked. "So she could be like us?"  
  
For once, Jeremie was at a lost for words.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Xana and some of his monsters landed in front of what was once a tower. Now it looked like a huge obelisk with a  
maze all around it. An iron gate covered the entranceway of the maze. Xana ordered a hornet to fly over it, but  
when it tried, it hit a forcefield and fell to the ground. Xana ordered a Mega-Tank to destroy the gate. The  
Mega-Tank fired a steady stream of energy at the gate. At first, it looked like nothing happened, then the gate  
began to buckle and then popped out.  
  
Xana ordered two Blocks to enter the maze. No sooner have they done then a one of the walls rammed them into the  
opposite wall and destroyed them. Xana's symbol glowed. He could see that this'll be trouble.  
  
Then the obelisk began doing something that Xana knew only too well. After all, he did it hundreds of times to  
the towers.  
  
It started to glow.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
There was a military base just outside of town. The tanks there suddenly came alive and started destroying  
everything. They made their way to the city limits.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Xana didn't like what was happening. He knew it was hypocritical since he did it so many times, but he still  
didn't like it. Because unlike past times, he had absolutely no control over what's going on. He would have to  
get help on this.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aelita felt... anxious. She didn't know why, she just had this need to move around a lot. She remembered Odd  
call it "being antsy." As she headed for the gate, Jim blocked her way.  
  
"Hold it there, kid, just where do you think you're going?"  
  
"Do you think I'm not human too?" Aelita asked not looking at the P.E. coach.  
  
"No, what I think is that you shouldn't wonder outside the school grounds by yourself."  
  
"But... I can act independent," Aelita protested.  
  
"I'm sure you can, but it's dangerous to wander around outside. Night's approaching and lots of weird people come   
out then."  
  
"Oh." Aelita turned and started to walk towards the track field.  
  
"Hey," Jim called. Aelita turned and looked at him. He pointed his thumb at himself. "The name's Jim, don't be  
afraid to ask for help."  
  
"You too," Aelita muttered. Jim gave her a confused look but Aelita didn't catch on it. She just continued her  
walk away.  
  
Aelita sat down on one of the bleachers.  
  
"This seat's taken," a low-tone voice said. Aelita turned and saw William LeChon laying across the bleacher,  
apparently trying to sleep.  
  
"Oh, sorry... um... William, wasn't it?" Without opening his eyes, William nodded. "Oh, well, I'm Aelita Lyoko."  
  
"I know," he said. "I heard you talking to those other four."  
  
"Oh. Sorry if I'm disturbing you. I'll leave if you want me to."  
  
"Do whatever you want," William said like it was no big deal. Aelita decided to stay. The two just remained in  
those positions for a bit, neither saying anything."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich and Odd had just returned to their room when Ulrich's cell phone went off. When Ulrich checked it, he gasped at  
what appeared on the screen. "Odd, come look at this." Ulrich showed that his cell phone was flashing the Lyoko symbol.  
  
"Is that from Xana?" Odd asked.  
  
"Bet on it. I don't think Xana would do this unless something was up with Lyoko. Odd, call Yumi. I'll get Jeremie."  
  
"What about Aelita?"  
  
"I'll get her after I get Jeremie. Let's meet at the factory." Ulrich ran to Jeremie's room and pounded on the door.  
"Jeremie, open up! It's an emergency!" Jeremie opened his door. The kid's eyes look worried. Ulrich figured he was  
worried about Aelita. "There's an emergency in Lyoko."  
  
"I know," Jeremie said as he showed Ulrich his cell phone. The Lyoko symbol was flashing on it too.  
  
"Aelita doesn't have a cell phone," Ulrich pointed out.  
  
"True, but the warning should appear on the computer in her room."  
  
"Okay, let's get down to the factory. If Aelita did get the signal, she would already be heading there."  
  
"Right. Jim's about so we should take the back route." The two ran down to the sewers and took their respective  
vehicles to the factory. Yumi and Odd were already there, but not Aelita.  
  
"Where's Aelita?" Yumi asked.  
  
"Wasn't she with you?" Ulrich asked back.  
  
"You said you were going to get her," Odd threw in.  
  
"We have to go look for her," Jeremie said, worried for her. She looked really down when he last saw her, he hoped  
she was all right. He turned to leave the factory but Ulrich caught his hand.  
  
"There's no time. If Xana's sending us an S.O.S. from Lyoko, it means that something bad has happened. And don't  
forget, if Xana dies, so does Aelita." Jeremie's look still showed that he wanted to look for Aelita. "Jeremie,   
the best thing we can do for Aelita is protect Xana and Lyoko. I'm sure Aelita would want us to do that!"  
  
"All right," Jeremie gave in. They ran into the elevator. Jeremie set himself up in the control room while the others  
rode down to the scanner room. "Yumi, Ulrich, the fourth scanner is still under construction. Could you two double-up?"  
  
Ulrich looked at Yumi. She still had some reservations about this whole scanner-sharing thing, but right now wasn't the  
time to express them. "Sure."  
  
"I want one to be ready for Aelita when she arrives," Jeremie said almost hopefully. Yumi and Ulrich didn't reply to that,  
but just went into the scanner. "Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Yumi." Jeremie accessed their avatars and  
readied the upload program for their weapons. "Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich and Yumi. Virtualization."  
  
The three appeared in the desert region. They immediately spotted the Obelisk. Xana was standing by it. "What in Lyoko  
is that?" Yumi asked.  
  
Jeremie received an instant message from Xana and relayed it to the others. "Xana says that it used to be a tower but  
something changed it."  
  
"Dollars to doughnuts it was the Invaders," Odd guessed.  
  
"That's what Xana believes too. He tried to get in but..."  
  
"Didn't work out, huh?" Ulrich finished looking at the destroyed Blocks. "All right, Jeremie, upload our weapons now!"  
  
"Right. Upload: Twin Kitanas! Upload: Disk Launchers! Upload: Wrist Claws!" Their weapons appeared on them. "All  
right, ready, guys?" Yumi and Odd nodded. "Then let's go."  
  
"Wait, guys," Jeremie said as they entered the maze. "Xana says that the entrance way houses a..." It was too late, the  
moving wall slammed them to the other end of a hallway. "Trap," Jeremie finished. "Quickly, get out of the way, Xana  
says that it's going to slam you again!" The three dove into a side hallway just as the moving wall hit the opposite end.  
  
"You couldn't have told us about that earlier?" Odd asked.  
  
"I tried, but you guys jumped the gun," Jeremie pointed out. "I'll try to extrapolate a path to the center."  
  
"Also, start a scan to find out what the Obelisk is affecting in our world," Ulrich instructed.  
  
"Already on it," Jeremie confirmed.  
  
"Okay, guys, let's go. And stay alert for more traps."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aelita cast a side glance at William. She wanted to ask him something but was afraid how he would react to her disturbing  
his sleep. After a while of this tennis match of thought, she decided to take the plunge. "William, may I ask you a  
question?"  
  
William just let out a grunt. At least he wasn't asleep when she asked but Aelita didn't know if that was a yes or a no.  
She decided to go forward. "Do... do I look human?"  
  
William opened one brown eye which he used to stare at her before closing it again. "You look human to me," he replied.  
  
"Do you think I act human?"  
  
"Don't know."  
  
"Why don't you know?"  
  
"Well A, I don't know you well enough."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"And B, us humans have so many different personalities that it's hard to form a fixed one."  
  
"What about independence? Is that a common human trait?"  
  
William blew a raspberry. "If it was, this whole darn planet would be in chaos."  
  
"You mean... I don't have to act independent to act human?"  
  
William cast a side glance at Aelita. "Don't have to if you don't want to."  
  
Aelita felt a heavy burden lifted off of her. Before, she was afraid that she would have to live as a human alone. But  
when she tried to act independent, she didn't like it very much. "I now know that being human doesn't mean you have to  
be alone. It is very different from simply being independent." She stood up. "Thank you, William, you helped me out so  
much!"  
  
"Yeah, whatever," he replied. Aelita didn't understand his tone but before she could ask him what that tone meant, the  
ground rumbled and there was a loud explosion. Aelita and William saw the front gate fly across the field with Jim  
following. Jim crashed half-way across the athletic field.  
  
"Jim!" Aelita cried as she and William ran to check on him. Fortunately he was only dazed. "What happened?"  
  
"A tank is what happened," Jim moaned. "There's been several of them running along streets shooting at anything and  
anyone."  
  
"Crazy," William commented. "The drivers of those tanks must be nuts."  
  
Aelita felt a small tingle in the back of her head. She chalked it up to what Odd calls a bad feeling. What if  
this wasn't the work of humans, what if the Invaders had something to do with it. She had to go check. She ran  
to the front entranceway.  
  
Jim's explanation was right on target, the tank that had just blow the front gate in was turning a corner. But before  
it did, Aelita noticed something strange. It was glowing and there seemed to be some sort of energy flowing to it from  
the sky.  
  
It did have something to do with Lyoko. If that was so, then Jeremie and the others would need her help.  
  
"William, look after Jim!" Aelita instructed as she ran off for the dorms.  
  
William gave her back a lop-sided smile. "Off to save the world again," he muttered.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Everyone, listen up," Jeremie called. "Xana and I have been going over the problem and we think we have a way to return  
it to normal."  
  
"Cool. Lay it on us, Big-J," Odd said as he galloped through a corridor.  
  
"The Obelisk is actually an infected Tower which means that it can be shut down just like any normal Tower. If you guys  
can clear the way, Xana can shut down the Tower. Shutting it down should return it to its normal shape."  
  
"I get it," Ulrich said. "Just like how Aelita used to shut down a Tower that Xana infected."  
  
"Not just, Ulrich, exactly," Jeremie said. Speaking of Aelita... Jeremy looked towards the door. Where was she?  
Was she really so depressed that she would ignore a call for help from Lyoko? "Aelita, I hope you're all right."  
  
"Did you say something, Jeremie?" Yumi asked.  
  
"Uh... I said get ready for a possible fight."  
  
"Oh." Yumi knew what Jeremy really said but she felt no need to embarrass the poor boy. She turned a corner and saw  
a black marble wall at the other end of the hall. "Good news, Jeremie. I found the path leading up to the Obelisk."  
  
"Good work, Yumi. Odd, Ulrich, stand your ground. Beginning extrapolation."  
  
Suddenly a Skeleton materialized in Yumi's way. It roared and two Blow Fish appeared with it. Two more Skeletons  
materialized where Ulrich and Odd were.  
  
"Jeremy, cancel the extrapolation," Yumi instructed. "There are obsticles in our way." The Blow Fish rushed her but  
Yumi flipped over them. She made her symbol. "Mystic Aura... Freeze!" And just like that, the Blow Fish froze in place.  
Yumi smiled at her handywork but didn't notice the Skeleton coming up behind her until it slashed her back. Yumi cried out  
in pain.  
  
"Yumi!" Jeremy cried. "You're down to 65 life points!"  
  
"That doesn't make any sense," Yumi said as she fired her Disk Launchers. "How could I lose over thirty life points?"  
  
"Twenty must be from when the wall crashed into you," Jeremy deduced, then gasped. "Ulrich, Odd, be careful, you guys  
lost over twenty life points from that wall hit."  
  
"Wow, these guys hit a lot tougher than Xana's monsters used to," Odd said as fired off a Laser Crescent.  
  
Jeremie tried to figure out how to help them. His pondering was interrupted as one of the side monitors activated a live  
television feed.  
  
"This is an Emergency News Broadcast," a bodiless announcer said. "Four of the army's new computerized tanks have come  
alive and have started shooting up the city. The army reports that there are no humans in them and have no explanation as  
to the cause. Already, casualties have gone up to 30 and that number continues to grow by the hour." Jeremy looked  
from the news broadcast to the Obelisk.  
  
It clicked.  
  
"Oh my God! That's what they're doing with the Obelisk. They're controlling tanks!"  
  
"Say again, Jeremie," Odd requested as he finally finished off the Skeleton. "They're controlling tanks."  
  
"Remember when Xana took control of those bulldozers and tried to destroy the factory? Well the Invaders are taking it  
one step further and using tanks to destroy everything. The casualties are piling up higher than the uneaten trays  
during Beef Strogenov day at the cafeteria." He could feel the shock that the others were going through upon hearing  
that news. "Don't worry guys, there is a way to stop this. The past revert program. But the tower has to be shut down  
and for that, we need Aelita."  
  
{Aelita, where are you?} Jeremie thought.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Jeremie, I..." Aelita began as she burst through the door to his room. She found it empty. "Huh? Where'd he go."  
Aelita tried Ulrich and Odd's room but it was locked. Aelita pounded on it with her shoulder until the door opened and  
she fell into the room. To her surprise, it was Kiwi who opened the door. "Kiwi, where's Odd. Please take me to where  
Odd and the others are." Kiwi seemed to understand because he sniffed around on the ground before moving out the door.  
His bark prompted Aelita to follow him. He lead her to the manhole cover where he started barking.  
  
{Of course,} Aelita thought. {Why didn't I realize it sooner? If they know there's a problem in Lyoko, obviously they  
would be there.} Aelita opened the manhole cover and climbed down with Kiwi. The two ran through the sewers until they  
came up on the exit near the factory. She entered it and rode the elevator down to the control room.  
  
Jeremie whipped his head around as the motors to the elevator began working. He was hoping for Aelita but his logic told  
him to be prepared for anything.  
  
So he was relieved when Aelita and Kiwi appeared. "Aelita!" He ran up to her and hugged her.  
  
"Jeremie, I'm so sorry for..."  
  
"Apologize later. Right now, we have an emergency."  
  
"I know," Aelita agreed as Jeremie lead her to the control panel. "Tanks have come to life..."  
  
"We already know about that," Jeremie interrupted again. "The Invaders have transformed a Tower into an Obelisk and  
maze. Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd are pinned down. Xana and I figured that the only way to stop all this is to return the  
Tower back to its normal state and use the past revert program."  
  
"Yes, that could work," Aelita agreed. "I'm heading down to the scanner. I'll need you to lead me through the maze."  
  
"You got it, Aelita." Aelita got into the empty scanner. "Transfer, Aelita. Scanner... virtualization!"  
  
Aelita appeared right next to Xana. Jeremie warned her about the trap. "I'll just have to move quickly." Aelita   
ran into the entrance way and as the wall started to move, Aelita ran to the other end and rolled through the exit   
as the wall struck nothing. "Made it," she informed to Jeremie.  
  
"Good. I'll lead you to the center. Upload: Lyoko Wand!" Aelita's staff appeared and Jeremie lead her to the center.  
  
By this time, Yumi had defeated the Skeleton thanks to some quick firing from her Disk Launchers. She decided to scout  
ahead. She entered the Obelisk. Inside was nothing but a dark room and a circular floor. There was no indication that  
this was once a Tower.  
  
A large monster came down in front of her. It looked like a dinosaur with a horn on its snout.  
  
A pre-battle screen came on: Yumi vs. Rhinorex. "Yumi, get away from there!" Jeremie ordered. "Your life points are  
too low and it's incredibly powerful." Yumi found that out the hard way as the Rhinorex stabbed her with his horn.  
Yumi vanished only to reappear outside the Obelisk.  
  
"Huh? How'd I get out here?" She wondered. "Jeremie, what's my life points?"  
  
"Ten. Better stay away from there, Yumi. Next time you might not be so lucky. Aelita's on her way."  
  
"Aelita?" No sooner had she said that then Aelita appeared. "Aelita, are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine now, Yumi."  
  
"Careful, there's a really powerful monster in there."  
  
"Hey Jeremie," Odd called. "Tell Aelita that if she defeats the monster, she can return the Tower to normal?"  
  
"How do you know that, Odd?"  
  
"Well it always works in video games."  
  
Aelita smiled. "I will, Odd." She walked into the Obelisk. The Rhinorex was already waiting for her. Before it could  
chomp her, Aelita rolled forward and dove in between its legs. It tried to turn around but it was too slow. Aelita saw  
her chance. She aimed her staff at the monster and concentrated with all her strength. The Rhinorex began rising into  
the air. It's body began to curl up into a ball until it was like a large scaly soccerball. Aelita was straining but  
she opened up a vortex to a digital void and threw the monster in there. She then closed it and collapsed to her knees.  
Her staff disappeared. The room suddenly changed to the bottom level of a Tower.  
  
Outside, Ulrich and Odd had met up with Yumi just in time to see the Obelisk turn back into a Tower and the maze  
disappear.  
  
"She did it!" Yumi cried as they all cheered.  
  
"Hey Jeremie, something's been bothering me," Ulrich said. "How do we know that when we return to the past, we don't go  
back to battling Xana's monsters instead of the Invaders. You know that without Aelita's upgrade, she'll be stuck in  
Lyoko again."  
  
"More importantly, how do we know that returning to the past will undo the deaths done by the tanks?" Yumi added.  
  
"Xana's been trying to upgrade the program but there's no guarantee it'll work."  
  
"Swell," Ulrich muttered.  
  
Aelita arrived at the top level of the tower. She walked to the center and activated a screen. She watched her name  
appear as well as the Code screen.  
  
L-Y-O-K-O  
  
The code was accepted. The assembled view screens began descending.  
  
"Return to the past now," Jeremie commanded as he hit the enter button.  
  
Everything was consumed in white light.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
When Aelita opened the door, she discovered Jeremie, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd standing there with boxes and bags of items.  
  
"Surprise!" They all said.  
  
"Oh wow, guys, this is incredible!" Aelita said as they came in and began setting up. "Thank you so much!"  
  
"Hey, after all the times you helped us save our world, Aelita, this is the least we can do," Ulrich said. Aelita  
was overcome with emotion at the support of her friends. She embraced Jeremie making the bespectacled boy's face grow  
red.  
  
"Thank you, Jeremie. Thank you all."  
  
"Ahem!" Everybody turned to see Sissi standing in the doorway. Aelita forgot to shut it. "Well isn't this the  
cozy bunch."  
  
"Leave us alone, Sissi," Ulrich said.  
  
"Yeah, we're just helping Aelita move in," Odd explained.  
  
"Oooh, you're just helping Aelita move in," Sissi mocked. "What's wrong, can't Aelita move herself in?"  
Sissi stared down at Aelita.  
  
"We're just helping," Yumi said fiercely. "If you want to help, then..." Aelita stepped forward and faced Sissi.  
  
"What do you want?" Sissi asked.  
  
"They're helping because I asked them," Aelita said firmly. "You got a problem with that?"  
  
Sissi wasn't expecting this girl to act so forceful. "Uh... well..."  
  
"Look, Sissi, before you say it, I don't care if I'm acting independent or not! I rely on my friends and they rely  
on me. So if you ever attempt to harrass my friends again, you'll have to deal with me! And I don't want to be   
your enemy any more than you want to be mine."  
  
"Now wait just a minute, I won't have any lip coming from a little baby like you!"  
  
"If you don't have anything nice to say, then get out!" Aelita pushed Sissi out of her room.  
  
Sissi looked up at Aelita. She looked like she was ready to go all out. And since Ulrich and Yumi were close   
behind her,she could see that they were ready to tag-in in case something bad happened to Aelita. Sissi got up and   
dusted herself off. "Well, I never..." And she stormed away.  
  
Aelita turned to look at the others. They all had bewildered expressions.  
  
"Aelita, that was incredible!" Ulrich exclaimed.  
  
"Phew, remind me never to get on your bad side, Aelita," Odd said.  
  
"I hoped I didn't do anything to get her in trouble," Aelita said.  
  
"I think Sissi had it coming," Yumi said placing a hand on her shoulder.  
  
Aelita nodded. A passing shadow caught her eye. "Um... guys, could you start. I'll join you in a minute."  
  
"Make sure you leave the toilet seat down," Odd called out. Ulrich, Yumi, and Jeremie scowled at him. "What? It's   
what my Dad always says when I leave the room."  
  
The shadow that Aelita saw was William. "William, wait up!" William turned to face Aelita. "I just wanted to   
thank you for what you said. I think, because of your words, I can survive being human."  
  
"Huh?" He said. Aelita just smiled at him and ran back. When she was out of ear shot, he said, "You're   
welcome, Aelita."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Someone besides Jeremie has a crush on Aelita. And you won't believe who it is. Odd also has a crush, and you won't  
believe who it is. You probably won't believe the entire chapter. 


	6. Love Lyoko style

Code: Lyoko  
  
Love... Lyoko Style  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
I apologize for the last chapter. I know it was really long. There was just so much stuff I wanted to include in it.  
  
I'd also like to address some reviews that you guys sent in (thank you so much for them by the way).  
  
Fallen Angel X: I'm aware of what they did in the show, but I wanted to justify Aelita relying on Jeremie a lot.  
Don't worry, they'll figure out the truth eventually.  
  
Eien (Oroko): William is definitely an enigma. And the mystery of him will only continue to deepen.  
  
Kiwi (Sakura): Sorry for the name misspelling. I searched through ff.net but every author of Code: Lyoko has spelled  
their names differently. I'll revise the previous chapters as soon as this one's posted.  
  
Midnight Insanity: Nope, William is not Xana because if you look carefully, how can Xana be William and in Lyoko at the  
same time? Okay, a copy, I know, but still, they are not the same person. Good guess though.  
  
For the rest of you, thank you so much for your reviews. I try hard to make every one of my readers happy.  
  
I'm still confused as to who owns Code: Lyoko. All I know is that it's not me.  
  
Abstract: Aelita's the target of a crush, but it's not Jeremie. Odd has a crush on an older woman. You know only  
pain can come from all this.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Previously on Code: Lyoko, an encounter with Sissi left Aelita doubting that she could be human if all she had to  
rely on was herself. But a brief conversation with William, the lone wolf student, made her realize that you can  
rely on others and still be human. When the Invaders took control of some computerized army tanks and sent them on  
a rampage throughout town, Aelita made her way throughout the maze and encountered the Rhinorex monster in a  
transformed tower. She defeated it using her powers to manipulate the very fabric of Lyoko. Returning to the past,  
Aelita confronted Sissi and proved that she had the strength to rely on both herself and her friends.  
  
However, Aelita still has some growing to do.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita walked to their class, Odd asked, "So Ulrich, any idea on who this new teacher is?"  
  
"Sissi says that she was hired right out of college."  
  
"Wow, her credentials must be excellent if she's still wet-behind-the-ears," Odd commented.  
  
"Wet-behind-the-ears?" Aelita asked Ulrich.  
  
"It means that the teacher's new," Ulrich explained. "That he or she doesn't have much experience."  
  
"Oh wow!" Odd gasped as he stopped in his tracks. Ulrich and Aelita followed Odd's line of sight. A young woman was  
walking through the courtyard. She had long red hair and green eyes. She was dressed in a purple blouse and blue skirt.  
"I think I'm in love!" Odd declared.  
  
"Oh brother," Ulrich moaned.  
  
"Is this a human thing?" Aelita asked.  
  
"More of an Odd thing," Ulrich commented. Then noticed something in her hand. "Uh... Odd, look at what she has in her  
hands."  
  
The woman had a teacher's planning book.  
  
"She's a teacher!" Aelita realized. "But she looks so young." They watched (Odd especially) as the young woman walked  
into one of the buildings. "Isn't that where our classroom is?" Aelita questioned. The three followed her and saw her  
enter a classroom in the middle of the hall.  
  
"That's our classroom," Aelita commented.  
  
"She's our new teacher," Ulrich concluded.  
  
"Oh yes!" Odd practically shouted. "I can't believe we have such a cute-looking teacher!" He ran to the classroom.  
Ulrich soon followed. Aelita was about to follow them when she looked down and saw another shadow along with her own.  
She turned around but saw nobody there.  
  
"Aelita," Ulrich called. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"I just thought someone was watching me," Aelita said. Ulrich looked behind Aelita but didn't see anyone. "Don't worry  
about it. Let's get to class."  
  
When Ulrich and Aelita walked into class, they saw something very unusual: Odd was sitting in the front-center. He was  
staring lovestruck at the new teacher as she wrote the subject on the blackboard. Ulrich sighed and turned to Aelita.  
"I better sit with Odd just so he has an anchor on reality. Do you mind, Aelita?"  
  
"I don't mind at all, Ulrich," Aelita replied. Ulrich sat next to Odd while Aelita took a seat towards the side.  
Aelita noticed a few familiar faces including William LeChon and Herb, who was part of Sissy's little gang. But other  
than that, most of the faces were new.  
  
"G' morning, class," the teacher said in a thick Irish accent. "My name's Miss O'Connor. Welcome to Western  
Literature."  
  
"Even her accent's beautiful," Odd whispered to Ulrich who rolled his eyes.  
  
"Before we begin," Miss O'Connor said. "Does anybody have any questions?"  
  
"Are you sure you're a teacher?" William commented. His tone sounded like he wasn't convinced who she said she was.  
Odd shot him a scowl.  
  
But Miss O'Connor only laughed. "Aye, ye' don't know how many times I've heard that taday," she said. "I just graduated  
from International College in Dublin. This is mah first job."  
  
"Wow," Odd muttered, completely overtaken by this young teacher.  
  
Meanwhile, Aelita couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She cast her eyes around the room but everyone  
seemed more interested in either the teacher or their desktops. When she saw William, he turned one of his eyes to look  
at her but then turned it back.  
  
Someone's watching me, but I can't figure out who.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich couldn't wait for class to be over. It was a real nuisance trying to keep Odd in check. Fortunately, the bell  
rang.  
  
"Miss O'Connor is so awesome!" Odd exclaimed as they left. "She's so smart and pretty and funny and pretty and..."  
  
"Is this another Odd thing?" Aelita asked.  
  
"Oh yeah." Ulrich felt around in his pocket and stopped. "Oh shoot, I left my cell phone in class. I'll be right back,  
guys." Ulrich ran back to class. But as he entered, he came to a dead halt.  
  
Miss O'Connor was still there and she was putting on a ring, a really fancy one. "Oh, hello, Ulrich," she greeted.  
"Did ye forget something?"  
  
"Whoa... uh... that's a nice ring, Miss O'Connor," Ulrich said as he grabbed his phone from his desk.  
  
"Thank ye. It's my engagement ring."  
  
"Engagement ring!" Ulrich gasped. Miss O'Connor gave him the 'don't you dare crack about that' look. "Uh... I...   
wasn't aware you were engaged. I mean... you weren't wearing the ring in class."  
  
"Aye, it's an annoying habit I have, playing with it. I was afraid that doing it during class would distract me from  
my lesson so I take it off before class."  
  
"Wow," Ulrich said. "Um... I mean... I wasn't aware you were engaged. I mean... you look so young."  
  
Miss O'Connor laughed and ruffled Ulrich's hair. "Flatterer. It's true. I'm going to be married in a few months."  
  
"Oh. Well... congratulations, Miss O'Connor."  
  
"Thank ye', Ulrich." Ulrich waved good-bye and ran out. Whoa, poor Odd, the girl of his dreams is actually engaged.  
Ulrich debated whether or not to tell him.  
  
"Sheesh, Ulrich, what took you?" Odd asked. "It shouldn't have taken this long to get your phone."  
  
"Oh... well... I just got hung up talking to Miss O'Connor," Ulrich replied.  
  
"I heard you say congratulations to her," Aelita said making Ulrich freeze in his tracks. "What were you congratulating  
her for?"  
  
"Uh, I was..." Think, Ulrich, think of an excuse. "Congratulating her on surviving her first class."  
  
"Lucky duck," Odd said. "She talked personally to you."  
  
"Man, Odd is really lovestruck," Ulrich commented.  
  
"Um... excuse me." Ulrich, Aelita, and Odd turned and saw Herb standing with his head looking down. "I... I was  
wondering if I could ask Aelita something." Odd was ready to tell Herb to go away but Ulrich put an arm out stopping  
him.  
  
"It's okay, guys," Aelita said. "I'll be all right."  
  
"Okay, we'll see you later, Aelita," Ulrich said as he and Odd went on.  
  
Aelita turned to Herb. "So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"  
  
"Well, actually... I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me?" That was the last question Aelita expected.  
  
"Um... gee, I don't know. I kind of promised that I would eat with Jeremie and the others."  
  
"Please, it's just one dinner."  
  
"Well... okay, as long as it's just a dinner."  
  
"Great, so I'll see you at five."  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"You agreed to go out on a date with him?!" Jeremie said exasperated.  
  
"Date? I thought it was just dinner," Aelita said.  
  
"It always starts with dinner," Jeremie ranted. "Then it leads to movies, then dancing, then long walks and before  
you know it, you're picking out curtains!"  
  
"What does picking out curtains have to do with anything?" Aelita asked Yumi.  
  
"I think Jeremie's got a little case of the green bug," Yumi said with a smile.  
  
"Green bug?"  
  
"Jeremie's jealous," Odd sang.  
  
"Me? Jealous? Oh please, and of Herb? Most definitely not." Jeremie pouted in a corner.  
  
"So... you don't mind that I go to dinner with Herb tonight."  
  
"You're human now, Aelita, you can do whatever you want."  
  
"Oh... okay."  
  
"Hey Aelita!" Ulrich threw Aelita his cell phone. "Just in case there's an Invader attack. Don't want a repeat of  
what happened last time."  
  
"Okay. Thanks, Ulrich. Well I better get going."  
  
"Wait a second, Aelita, Ulrich and I will walk you back to your room."  
  
"We will?" Yumi nudged him. "I mean... we will."  
  
"Okay, see you, guys," Odd called. Once they were gone, Odd turned to Jeremie who was busy typing on his laptop. "Sheesh,  
Jeremie, I haven't seen you this upset since the time you mistook that exchange student for Aelita materialized."  
  
"Why should I be upset?" Jeremie asked. "I mean it's just Herb."  
  
"Okay, just admit it, you're jealous."  
  
"I'm not jealous!"  
  
"Oh come on. If you were any greener, you could work at Fenway Park," Odd cracked. "Jeremie, just think about this.  
This is Aelita we're talking about. She's not like that duplicate Yumi and starts hitting on everyone wearing glasses.  
She only interested in making friends. She'll have dinner with Herb and that'll be the end of it."  
  
"But you don't know Herb. I do, I used to be like him. He'll try to impress Aelita, then when she's comfortable with  
him, he'll ask her out on another date and it'll just snowball from there!"  
  
Odd slapped him. "Get ahold of yourself, man. You're acting like Yumi every time Ulrich talks to another girl. Now  
look, if you're that worried, we could always peek in on their little... uh... date."  
  
"Are you sure? Aelita might get upset if we're spying on her."  
  
"Herb might, but definitely not Aelita."  
  
"Yeah! All right, let's do it." Odd sighed. He gotten Jeremie to calm down. Now let's just hope Herb doesn't try  
anything otherwise Jeremy might pull a Xana and go out on a rampage.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Is Jeremie mad at me?" Aelita asked Ulrich and Yumi. "I mean from the way he talked..."  
  
"It's like Odd said, Jeremie's just jealous," Yumi assured her.  
  
"Now that I'm human, I'd like to make as many friends as possible. And I know Herb is not like Sissi. He's... gentler."  
  
"Herb definitely doesn't have a mean streak like Sissi," Ulrich agreed. "But he can get jealous at times as well."  
  
"Tell me about it. Remember the time you had to kiss Sissi?" Yumi asked.  
  
"Don't remind me," Ulrich said. "I still have nightmares about it. If it wasn't for the fact that Xana was attacking,  
I would have ran as far away as possible."  
  
"You mean you didn't like it?" Yumi asked half-surprised.  
  
"No, I didn't. It was the most humiliating and disgusting experience I've ever had. Believe me when I say that Sissi   
was the last person I wanted to kiss."  
  
"So who's the first?"  
  
"I thought we were talking about Aelita here?"  
  
"Yumi, you seem to get jealous a lot," Aelita observed. "How do you deal with it?"  
  
"Uh... well... I... uh... it's different for each person, Aelita."  
  
Ulrich could sense the embarrassment from Yumi so he decided to distract Aelita, "Hey, did you know that Miss   
O'Connor's engaged?"  
  
"The new teacher?" Ulrich nodded.  
  
"Does Odd know?" Aelita asked. "I mean he does like her."  
  
"No kidding. No, he doesn't know. I'll probably tell him later though."  
  
"Here's my room," Aelita announced. "Ulrich, Yumi, I... I want you two nearby when I go to this. I'm worried that I  
might screw something up."  
  
"Of course, Aelita, we'll be at the corner table in case you need us."  
  
"Okay, see you tonight." Aelita disappeared into her room.  
  
"You know," Yumi said as the two continued to walk down the hall. "In a way, I feel sorry for Herb and Odd. I mean  
they're both bound to be heartbroken by girls. Once Herb realizes that Aelita isn't interested in him the same way he's  
interested in her."  
  
"What I wonder is what Sissi thinks of all this."  
  
"Maybe she doesn't know."  
  
A familiar high-pitch screach echoed from around the corner. "Are you out of your mind?"  
  
"Then again," Yumi ammended as the two braced themselves against the wall and peaked around the corner. Sure enough,  
Sissi was giving Herb a good talking to.  
  
"Why would you choose to go to dinner with anyone? And especially that turnip to boot?"  
  
"Well... uh... you see, I want to get to know her and she doesn't yell at me or anything," Herb began.  
  
Sissi interrupted him. "She has the personality of a wet noodle. I don't care if birds of a feather really do flock  
together! You're crazy if you're actually showing interest in that radish..."  
  
"At least that radish doesn't put me down or insults me like you do!" Herb snapped. Sissi was surprised at Herb's  
outburst as was Yumi and Ulrich. "I'm going to have dinner with her and that's that!" And he turned and marched   
away.  
  
Ulrich and Yumi decided to make an appearance.   
  
"Boy, Sissi, you're really tough towards someone who's really devoted to you," Ulrich commented.  
  
"Were you two spying on me?"  
  
"It was hard not to, the two of you could be heard all the way from down the hall."  
  
Sissi turned towards Ulrich. "Tell Jeremie's 'step-sister' that if she thinks she has a chance with Herb, she's sorely  
mistaken."  
  
"Why would you care about who Herb goes out with, Sissi?" Ulrich asked. "It's not like you like him." Sissi seemed  
to be surprised by that comment. She turned and walked away as if in a trance.  
  
Ulrich cast a side glance at Yumi. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  
  
"Maybe that new school heartthrob couple comment isn't too far off the mark," Yumi replied echoing Ulrich's thoughts.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
In Lyoko, a tower in the Polar Region started to glow. But then it transformed into a black Obelisk with a surrounding  
maze.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Yumi and Ulrich walked into dinner that afternoon and saw Aelita and Herb sitting alone at a corner table. There were a  
few other students there including William, who just seemed to be eating a sandwich, and two boys hiding behind books  
wearing baseball caps. Ulrich and Yumi immediately knew it was Odd and Jeremie.  
  
"What are you two doing?" Ulrich asked.  
  
Odd hushed him. "We're spying on Aelita and Herb."  
  
"You know, Aelita just asked us to watch her just in case something bad happens," Yumi pointed out.  
  
"But I like spying," Odd protested.  
  
"Look at them," Jeremie said. "They're acting so close, it's sickening. I should put a stop to it." He began to stand.  
  
"Down, boy," Odd said pulling Jeremie back into his seat. "If anything bad happens, we'll be there to back her up."  
  
"I wish I knew what they were talking about," Jeremie muttered.  
  
Meanwhile, Aelita was discovering that her suspicions abot Herb had been right all along. He really wasn't so bad once  
he stepped out of Sissi's shadow.  
  
Aelita laughing at a joke Herb told her. Jeremie was ready to stomp right up there and it took all three of them to  
hold him down.  
  
"That's it, I'm knocking him out," Yumi said as she got ready to deliver a mind-blowing chop to Jeremie's neck.  
  
But before she could, a beeping sound came from her pocket, as did Jeremie's and Odd's. The three of them took out their  
cell phones and noticed the Lyoko symbol flashing on it.  
  
"An Invader attack," Odd whispered. "Let's go."  
  
"I'll go tell Aelita," Jeremie volunteered.  
  
"No you won't," Yumi rebutted. "If you tell Aelita, then Herb is bound to hear it and if Herb hears about it,   
we can kiss Lyoko and our world good-bye."  
  
"Don't worry, Jeremie, Aelita has my cell phone. It should be going off like the others. Let's just get to the  
factory. Aelita can meet up with us."  
  
"Oh... all right. But let's be subtle about it, don't want anyone getting suspicious." The four of them crouched down  
and crept to the exit.  
  
The only one who saw them was William, who simply took a drink and said, "They're only acting more conspicuous." He then  
got up and started to leave. As he passed by Aelita's table, he said, "Your cell phone's going off." He then continued  
on his way out.  
  
Aelita gasped and frantically searched her purse for Ulrich's cell phone. Opening it up, she discovered the Lyoko symbol  
flashing. Oh no, an Invader alert!  
  
"So Aelita," Herb was saying. "I was wondering if you might like to do this again..."  
  
"Sorry, Herb, but I got to go," Aelita said quickly getting up.  
  
"But Aelita..."  
  
"I'm sorry, but it's an emergency!" She ran out the door.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What do you think, Jeremie?" Ulrich asked as they arrived at the manhole cover. "Same plan as last time?"  
  
"I don't know. It is possible that they're prepared this time. I'll contact Xana once we reach the factory. I don't  
think they'll be expecting him."  
  
"Wait, wait up!" Aelita called. She ran up to them panting. "I'm... I'm sorry, I wasn't aware the cell phone was  
going off."  
  
"Well we're just glad you could join us," Odd said. "All right, let's get virtual and kick some Invader butts!"  
  
Ulrich and Odd opened the manhole cover and everyone climbed down. Waiting for them were three skateboards and two  
skooters. Jeremie and Aelita brought up the rear of this underground train. Aelita could sense that Jeremie was still  
upset about her choosing to go to dinner with Herb.  
  
"Jeremie, I..."  
  
"It's no big deal, Aelita." Jeremie said it like it was no big deal, but even Odd could tell that he was still upset.  
  
"I'm sorry," Aelita said. "I don't want to make you mad. You've done so much for me and I've made you upset." Aelita's  
sadness gave Jeremie a pang of guilt.  
  
The kids arrived at the exit. Once they entered the factory, they set up. They got in the usual scanners, Aelita and Odd  
on the sides and Ulrich and Yumi sharing the center one.  
  
"Transfer Aelita, transfer Odd, transfer Ulrich, transfer Yumi. Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich and Yumi.  
Virtualization!"  
  
The four materialized in the polar region.  
  
"Great," Odd grumbled. "We just had to come to the Lyoko South Pole."  
  
"Look over there!" Aelita pointed to a black obelisk structure in the distance.  
  
"That's not your normal tower," Odd commented. They started to run to it but suddenly found themselves at a lake  
covered with patches of ice. They began hopping from ice patch to ice patch until they reached the island where the  
obelisk was on. "Whoa, this is cool," Odd commented, then cringed at what he said. "I mean... interesting."  
  
"All right, Jeremie, upload our weapons."  
  
"You got it. Upload: Twin Kitanas! Upload: Disk Launchers! Upload: Wrist Claws! Upload: Lyoko Wand!" Their weapons  
appeared. "Okay, you're ready for battle."  
  
"Let's go," Ulrich said. "And watch out for traps."  
  
As the group entered the maze that surrounded the Obelisk, they immediately noticed that it was a different formation then  
the last. But all four of them were there now so things should be about even.  
  
"Jeremie, isn't there a way you can find us the most direct path like you did last time?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"I'm already on it. Xana's having one of his hornets fly over right now." They could see the yellow insect up in the  
sky. "Okay. Looks like Aelita's on the right path. Just turn right and head all the way..." Jeremie heard Aelita cry  
out. "Aelita, are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine," Aelita replied standing up and dusting the snow off her costume. She took a look at the swinging axe that  
almost chopped her in two. "Did I lose any life points?"  
  
"Thankfully no," Jeremie reported. "Aelita, don't scare me like that. You almost gave me a heart attack."  
  
"Sorry," Aelita said solemnly. "That's all I seem to be able to do lately."  
  
"Uh... can you two have intimate conversation some other time?" Odd asked. "Like when we're not on a mission."  
  
Jeremie hated himself for allowing his emotions to clog up his judgement. He couldn't help it, especially when it came to  
Aelita. He was only just reunited with her again, he didn't want to risk losing her again, not to Xana or the Invaders or  
anybody.  
  
"I spotted the entrance to the Obelisk," Aelita reported. "I'm entering it." She entered the former tower and once again,  
found herself in a pitch-black room with tile floor. "There doesn't appear to be any monsters around..." Aelita spoke  
too soon, as a giant white beast came down in front of her.  
  
A pre-battle screen appeared on Jeremie's monitor: Aelita vs. Polar Claw. From its stats, Jeremie concluded that while  
Aelita still had all her life points, the Polar Claw had more hit points than the Rhinorex that Aelita last fought with.  
"Aelita, be careful. This Polar Claw is much more powerful than the Rhinorex."  
  
The Polar Claw swung its claws at her but Aelita blocked with her staff. But the Polar Claw attacked with his other claw  
which Aelita couldn't block without letting the first claw strike her. Her life points dropped by almost a quarter.  
Aelita made the air around the Polar Claw much heavier and tried to crush it. The Polar Claw breathed on Aelita and  
froze her. The ice eventually broke leaving Aelita weakened but still there.  
  
"Aelita, you're down to 65 life points. Try to hold on until the others arrive."  
  
"I... I'm sure I can beat it, Jeremie."  
  
"Forget it, Aelita, it's not worth it!" Aelita just opened up a vortex underneath the Polar Claw. The monster's rear was  
dragged under but its front claws dug into the floor.  
  
"No, Jeremie, I can do this, I know I can. I have to prove myself to you."  
  
"Aelita, you don't have to prove anything to me! Just get out of there now!"  
  
Meanwhile, the others had arrived at the entrance. "Guys, Aelita's in trouble," Jeremie said.  
  
"We're on our way, Jeremie!" Ulrich and Yumi pulled ahead of Odd. When Odd tried to catch up, a Skeleton dropped in  
between them."  
  
"Oh great, not these again. I'll handle bone-brain, you guys go help Aelita." Odd attacked with his claws which the  
Skeleton blocked.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Back at school, dark clouds began gathering. Lightning was striking everywhere, like a god was pouring his wraith on that  
particular school.  
  
Jim burst into the cafeteria. "Everyone to the basement of the dorms, quick!" Jim began to lead the kids to the dorms but  
they were assaulted by lightning. The kids did their best to dodge it.  
  
Herb let out a yipe as a lightning bolt almost struck his back side. He was trying to run as fast as he could but it was  
like the lightning was magnetically attracted to a human body. Herb saw a light in the sky coming straight down for him.  
He realized too late that it was a lightning bolt intending to strike him dead.  
  
"Herb!" Someone tackled him to the ground causing the lightning bolt to strike the dirt instead. Herb looked up at his  
savior: it was Sissi!  
  
"Sissi? You... you just..." Sissi just pulled Herb to his feet and took his hand. She lead him over to Jim.  
  
"Sissi, that was very dangerous of you to do that," Jim scolded. "If your father found out what you were doing..."  
  
"Punish me later," Sissi snapped. "Right now, we need to get to low ground!"  
  
"Oh, uh... right." Jim lead everyone to the basement.  
  
"Sissi, thank you," Herb said embarrassed once they were all huddled on the bottom-most level.  
"But... I thought you hated me."  
  
"I do, but I don't want to see you dead," Sissi said. "And... well... I couldn't live with myself if I stood by while  
something happened to you."  
  
For the first time ever, Herb wondered if Sissi actually had feelings for him.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jeremie could hear the lightning even from within the factory. Lightning? But there was nothing in the weather report  
about rain. Jeremie hacked into a weather satellite. It showed thunder clouds and lightning around their area. But it  
was clear everywhere else. Jeremie looked from the screen to aboveground.  
  
"Of course!" He cried. "The Invaders are charging the polarity in the air using the Earth's own electrical field! That's  
how they're causing the lightning. But if they're really the cause of this lightning, then they must intend to use it  
for evil purposes!" Jeremie frantically turned to the screen and spoke into his microphone. "Guys, listen, I figured out  
what they're using the tower for, they're using it to create lightning to strike at people!"  
  
"Lightning?" Odd questioned as he sliced the Skeleton in two. "Can't they think of anything original?"  
  
"Better not tempt fate, Odd. Aelita has to shut down the tower. If we don't return to the past, these lightning bolts  
could devastate everything and everyone!"  
  
But it was too late for Aelita. Ulrich and Yumi ran inside the Obelisk just in time to see Aelita pinned by the Polar   
Claw.  
  
"Aelita!" They cried. Aelita was still struggling, fighting back with everything she had. But considering she was  
pinned, that wasn't much.  
  
Finally, the Polar Claw stabbed its nails into Aelita. Aelita screamed as her body disappeared.  
  
"No!" Yumi and Ulrich yelled.  
  
"Aelita!" Jeremie cried. He turned and ran to the Scanner Room.  
  
Aelita was forcefully ejected from her scanner. She laid on the ground, bruised, but alive.  
  
Jeremie ran in and picked her up. "Aelita, please speak to me."  
  
Aelita struggled to open her eyes. "Jeremie... I'm sorry... I failed you."  
  
"On the contrary," Jeremie said embracing his friend. "I've never been more proud of you, Aelita. And... I'm sorry.  
Odd was right, I was jealous."  
  
"D... don't be," Aelita said. "Jeremie, you did something very special for me, you made me human. And for that, I...  
will always..." Aelita trailed off.  
  
"I know, Aelita, I do too. Come on, let's get back upstairs." He helped her into the elevator.  
  
In Lyoko, Ulrich was enraged at seeing Aelita disappear. "I'm going in. Yumi, cover me!"  
  
"You got it." Ulrich faced off with the Polar Claw. Yumi made a sign with her hands. "Mystic Aura... energize!"  
Ulrich's blade was enchanted with energy.  
  
"Mega Energy Wave!" The giant energy blast shot the Polar Claw to the other end of the room. Ulrich moved in for close-  
range combat while Yumi utilized her aura to increase Ulrich's power, but it was rapidly draining her energy. Soon, she  
couldn't hold it any more and she collapsed.  
  
"I'm sorry..." She panted. "That's all I can give."  
  
"It's good enough," Jeremie said. "Ulrich, finish it off!"  
  
"Yeah!" Ulrich jumped into the air and pointed his swords at the Polar Claw. "Double Impact!" He stabbed the Polar Claw.  
The monster turned into lines which then dispersed. The Obelisk turned back into a tower.  
  
"The monster's defeated," Yumi said. "But withou Aelita, how can we deactivate it?"  
  
"I know," came Odd's voice. He entered the tower along with Xana. "Jeremie says that Xana can shut down the tower."  
  
"How can he do that?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"Let's just say we're not the only ones who were upgraded," Jeremie replied.  
  
Xana raised his arms and was risen to the upper level. His symbol glowed as several different screens appeared. Finally,  
one screen with the word "OVERRIDE" The code screen appeared after that. This time, it was Xana who typed in the code.  
  
L-Y-O-K-O  
  
The screens descended as time on the outside froze. Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd cheered.  
  
"I never thought I hear myself say this, but go Xana!" Odd cheered.  
  
Jeremie and Aelita also cheered. Jeremie looked over his shoulder and gave her a loving glance. "Aelita, care to do  
the honors?"  
  
Aelita returned the look. "With pleasure." She reached past Jeremie and hit the enter button calling out, "Return to  
the past... now!"  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Miss O'Connor is so awesome!" Odd exclaimed as he walked out of class with Ulrich and Aelita. "She's so smart  
and pretty and funny and pretty and..."  
  
"Is this another Odd thing?" Aelita asked.  
  
"Oh yeah." Ulrich felt around in his pocket and stopped. "Hey Odd, I left my cell phone in class. Would you go get  
it?"  
  
"Why do you want me to do it?"  
  
"It'll give you a chance to talk to Miss O'Connor," Ulrich said raising one eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, sure, Ulrich, be right back." Ulrich and Aelita shared a knowing smile.  
  
"Um... excuse me." Ulrich and Aelita turned and saw Herb standing with his head looking down. "I... I was  
wondering if I could ask Aelita something."  
  
Ulrich stepped to the side as Aelita and Herb conversed.  
  
"So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"  
  
"Well, actually... I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me?"  
  
"Um... gee, I don't know. I kind of promised that I would eat with Jeremie and the others."  
  
"Please, it's just one dinner."  
  
Aelita smiled at him. "Sorry, Herb, maybe some other time, but if you want to have dinner with the five of us some  
time."  
  
"Oh... um... thanks, maybe I'll take you up on your offer some other time." It was then that the three of them heard a  
whimper behind them. They all turned to see Odd standing there. He had Ulrich's cell phone but he also had a  
a strange expression on his face. It looked like a cross between bewilderment and disappointment.  
  
"Odd, is something wrong?" Ulrich asked while trying to keep a straight face.  
  
"E... en... engaged... she's engaged..." Odd staggered.  
  
"Who's engaged?" Aelita asked with her hand over her mouth so Odd wouldn't see her smile.  
  
"Miss O'Connor... she's engaged... she has a ring and everything... what do you know."  
  
"I heard she's been engaged for a few months," Herb commented which further whitened Odd's face at the same time  
deteriorating Ulrich's and Aelita's stoic expressions.  
  
"Well... she's engaged... she's a teacher and... she's engaged."  
  
"I think we better get Odd back to his room before he faints," Aelita said. "We'll see you later, Herb."  
  
"Yeah," Herb agreed. As Ulrich and Aelita lead Odd back to his room, they passed by Sissi.  
  
Aelita whispered, "Hey Sissi, I think Herb is having trouble when it comes to communicating with girls. You could give  
him some tips."  
  
"Is that so." Slowly, a smile appeared on Sissi's face. "Well, I think he needs a course from Sissi's Dating Boot  
Camp." She cracked her knuckles and stomped up to him.  
  
"Aelita, I think you just hooked up two of the most unromantic people in the whole school," Ulrich commented. "I didn't  
know you had it in you." Aelita blushed a little. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Jeremie leaning against a  
pillar. She gave him a thumb up. Jeremie returned it.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The next chapter has the gang stuck in Lyoko. With Jeremie trying to fix the problem, how can they pass the time? 


	7. Return to the Past

Code: Lyoko  
  
Return to the Past  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Just to warn you all, I re-uploaded chapters 1-5 because I made some mistakes with the names. They're mostly the  
same, just with the names and a few dialogue changes. If you want to go back and read them to find the changes,  
go ahead.  
  
Review Response:  
  
Midnight Insanity: Sometimes, obscure couples are a good thing. Besides, ever heard of the saying "Opposites  
attract?" Well, you definitely can't get more opposite than those two (Sissi and Herb).  
  
Person in state of Ennui: You make a valid argument. I just thought that since most people refer to Japanese-  
based animation as Anime (I believe they even do that in Japan) and Code: Lyoko isn't from a Japanese-based  
company, it wouldn't be considered anime (actually, I heard that anime is simply short for Japanimation)  
  
JQLN: Xana's winning battles for once, isn't that good enough? Besides, hate to spoil, but the next chapter has  
mucho Xana in it.  
  
Samster: Ask and thou shalt receive.  
  
I don't own Code: Lyoko, but you guys should know that by now.  
  
Abstract: The gang's stuck in Lyoko for a while. What do they do to pass the time? Why tell stories of the past  
of course. A/N: This isn't a clip chapter and I did take a few creative liberties so sorry if I mess something up.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich released another energy wave from his kitanas and looked behind him. "Aelita, get to the tower and protect  
it!"  
  
"I would if I could," Aelita said as she blocked an exploding Blow Fish. "But I'm surrounded."  
  
"Darn it!" Ulrich looked around but Odd, Yumi, and Xana were also being surrounded. When Jeremie detected the  
Invaders setting up in the mountain region, they hurried to stop them before they transformed the tower into an  
Obelisk. But the Invaders were waiting for them with an army of Skeletons and Blow Fish.  
  
"Yumi, you're getting too close to the edge," Jeremie warned. The Blow Fish have been getting too close to her and  
forced her to the edge of the digital void.  
  
"It's not like I have much of a choice," Yumi said. She made her sign with her hand and summoned her aura.  
"Mystic Aura... Reflect!" An invisible force blew the Blow Fish back but it also blew her back over the edge.  
Yumi grabbed the edge with both hands. "Ulrich, help me!"  
  
Ulrich had a brief de'ja vu experience of the time they lost Yumi in the forest region. Jeremie had to use the  
experimental materialization program to bring her back. But, like the old cartoon gag goes, they could only do it  
once because the program was the accidental result of Odd dropping candy on Jeremie's keyboard. Now, Yumi was  
about to fall again. And once again, he would be helpless to do anything about it.  
  
"I'm about to fall!" Yumi cried.  
  
"Hang on, Yumi," Jeremie advised. "I'm sending some help on the way."  
  
But Yumi's hands were rapidly slipping. Finally, she couldn't hold on any more and she let go.  
  
"YUMI!" Ulrich cried.  
  
"Upload!" Jeremie shouted. One of Yumi's bladed disks disappeared and replaced by a three-pronged claw with  
rope attached. Yumi fired it. The hook flew over the edge and dug into the rocky ground. Yumi held onto the  
rope for dear life.  
  
"Phew! Thanks, Jeremie, I owe you one."  
  
"Better hurry and climb up, Yumi, the grappling claw won't last forever."  
  
Yumi began to climb up the rope. "I just wish I got more practice with rope climbing in gym." Finally, Yumi reached  
over the edge of the plateau they were on. She noticed that the others had mostly dealt with the army that was  
sent for them. "Hey, a little help here, guys!" She called.  
  
Ulrich, relieved to see her, ran to help her up. "Yumi, I was afraid I lost you."  
  
Yumi patted his cheek. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, at least not again."  
  
"I'm glad," Ulrich responded.  
  
"Hey, lovebirds," Odd called. "If you're done saying hi, we kind of need help over here!" Odd, Aelita, and Xana  
were pushing the Skeleton army back down the hill that lead up to the tower. Jeremie restored Yumi's bladed disk  
and the two ran to join their comrades (with egg on their faces).  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jeremie chuckled at Odd's "lovebird" comment. Everybody knew those two were fond of each other. But apparently,  
they still liked to pretend that they were only friends.  
  
Suddenly an alarm rang out throughout the lab. Jeremie ran to check the status screen. "This can't be  
happening!"  
  
"Jeremie, what's wrong?" Aelita asked.  
  
"Someone's trying to hack into my system!" Jeremie announced. "This is bad, if they gain access, our secret's  
out."  
  
"Can't you put up some sort of firewall?" Yumi asked.  
  
"I'm one step ahead of you, Yumi... no good! A data stream has already been established. I'm going to try to  
figure out where it's... huh?"  
  
"Uh-oh, when Jeremie says 'huh,' you know it's bad," Odd commented.  
  
"This is strange. The data stream is operating as an uplink and not a downlink."  
  
"Meaning?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"He means that something is being introduced into the super computer and not taken," Aelita translated.  
  
"It must be a virus," Jeremie said. "I'm trying to terminate the link..." Jeremie growled in frustration.  
"Whoever's doing this knows more about the system than I do! They're getting around all my protection  
protocols!"  
  
"Is that even possible?" Ulrich asked.  
  
Odd's tail began pulling in one direction. "Guys, we're about to have more trouble!" He pointed in the same  
direction his tail was in. "It's coming from that direction and... DUCK!" Everyone, Xana included, ducked down  
as a flaming wheel cruised through the air and sliced the remaining Skeletons into tiny bits. It then returned  
in the direction it came.  
  
"What was that?" Yumi asked.  
  
"I don't know," Ulrich replied.  
  
"The data stream was terminated before I could trace it to its source." Jeremie sat back in his chair. "Someone  
knew their way around the super computer. It was able to create a back door and disabled all the protection  
software I installed."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
From outside the factory, a laptop was shut down and placed into a backpack. The owner then walked away casually,  
whistling.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Well, whatever that thing was, it took care of our job for us," Odd commented as the weapons disappeared.  
"Jeremie, log us out and we can help you try and figure it out."  
  
"You got it." Jeremie keyed in the log-out commands but an error message came on the screen and stayed there.  
"Oh no, this isn't good."  
  
"Uh... Jeremie, any time now," Ulrich said.  
  
"Guys, I don't know how to tell you this, but... the system's frozen."  
  
"Frozen?" Everyone in Lyoko who could talk said at the same time.  
  
"I'm confused," Odd said. "How can a super computer get frozen?"  
  
"It must've been the same hacker who was trying to upload something into our system," Jeremie deduced. He got  
out his laptop and plugged it into the Lyoko system. "I knew it. The data stream created by the hacker left an  
imperfection in the flow tunnel."  
  
"And for us ignorant bunch?" Odd cracked.  
  
"The system took in too much data at once. That resulted in the system freeze."  
  
"So can you unfreeze it?"  
  
"Oh, sure," Jeremie said casually. "Unfreezing the system should be no problem, but it'll take a while."  
  
"So what should we do in the mean time?"  
  
"Just... hang out."  
  
"Hang out he says," Odd said rolling his eyes.  
  
"Yes, hang out," Jeremie repeated. "I'm going down to the core to see if I can unfreeze it from there. I  
could sure use Xana's help on this one." Xana sent an Instant Message telling Jeremie that he will help.  
  
"We better take cover in the tower," Ulrich recommended. "The Invaders could still be around and without  
Jeremie to upload our weapons, we're vulnerable." The four walked into the tower.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"I still find it hard to believe that someone was able to hack into our super computer," Yumi said. "Especially  
considering all the protection Jeremie installed."  
  
Ulrich looked at Aelita, who was sitting Indian style by the tower's entrance. "Aelita, do you know anyone who  
would be able to hack Lyoko?"  
  
Aelita shook her head. "No. To tell you the truth, until I met you guys, Jeremie was the only human I ever  
encountered with expert knowledge of the super computer. Actually, back then, he was the first human I ever  
encountered period."  
  
"You mean you hadn't seen any humans before Jeremie? But what about the lab, the scanners? I doubt they all  
could just appear out of thin air. Didn't you have any contact with your programmers or have any archives?"  
  
"Good question, Ulrich. For as long as I can remember, I was alone in Lyoko. There was nobody to talk to but  
the trees and the rocks. I explored from one end of Lyoko to the other. The thought that a world like yours  
existed never even occured to me. Then one day..."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
(Almost 2 Years Ago)  
  
The boy's name was Jeremie and he just arrived at a prestigious boarding junior high school. Being the genius   
he was, he easily got accepted. He had only just finished putting away his stuff when there was a scuffle   
outside his door. He opened it and saw a bunch of bigger kids picking on a small girl. Before Jeremie even  
knew what he was doing, he said, "Hey, leave her alone!"  
  
The bullies turned on him, deciding that he was a more tempting target. Jeremie quickly left the dorms and ran  
into the adjacent park. He frantically looked around for someplace he could hide in and finally took a big leap  
in opening a manhole cover and climbing down into the sewers. No sooner had he closed the lid and reached the  
floor then the bullies were seen on top of the manhole. Jeremie gasped and soon regretted it. His gasp had  
attracted their attention and they were already moving the manhole cover aside. Jeremie ran from one tunnel to  
the next. But no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't lose them. Jeremie finally spotted an exit. He slid open  
the hatch climbed through, shut it again, and sat on it. But his weight was not enough for their combined  
strength. Jeremie saw a large brown building across a bridge.  
  
{Must be some sort of old warehouse or factory,} he thought. He quickly ran across the bridge, seeking shelter  
in the building.  
  
His eyes were closed, so he didn't see the ten foot drop until it was too late. Jeremie fell on his back. He  
could hear the bullies talking above him.  
  
"Come on, guys, let's go."  
  
"But he might be dead. Shouldn't we call an ambulance or something?"  
  
"Forget it, they'll just think we killed him. Besides, he's probably just playing possum." After about a  
while, they left. Shortly after that, Jeremie stuggled to pull himself to his feet. His whole body ached from   
the fall and therunning. He noticed an old freight elevator which made him think that this was probably an old   
mining factory left over from a long time ago. He walked (staggered is more like it) into it and pushed the   
button. The elevator began descending. Jeremie wondered if this would take him back to the sewers when the  
elevator stopped, apparently in mid-descent. The elevator door opened and Jeremie came face-to-face with what  
looked like a large vault door.  
  
Which unlocked allowing Jeremie access to the other side.  
  
Jeremie gasped as he walked into the large room. Most of it was taken up by a floor-mounted projector. A  
large computer with three monitors and a keyboard.  
  
"Who's there?" A female voice called out. Jeremie jumped a foot and a half and looked around.  
  
"Wh... who said that?"  
  
"Who are you? What do you want?"  
  
"That's what I want to ask," Jeremie retorted. "Are you a ghost?" But he couldn't find any source for the   
voice. {Where is that voice coming from? Maybe it's some sort of intercom. If that's true, then there must   
be a microphone aroundhere somewhere.} Jeremie explored the room until he came to the computer set-up.   
There was an earpiece microphone laying on the chair. Jeremie picked it up and placed it in his ear. "He... hello?"  
  
"Finally, a voice," the disembodied voice said.  
  
"Who are you? Where are you?"  
  
"Oh, sorry, you want a visual, right?"  
  
"Um... yeah." The computer screen booted up and after over a dozen introduction screens, a video feed was  
activated. The feed showed a girl, probably a bit older than Jeremie was. She had short pink hair and beady  
green eyes. She had elf-like ears and was dressed in what looked like a kimono that was two sizes too small  
for her over a yellow shirt and shorts.  
  
"Hi," she greeted. "I'm Aelita."  
  
"Ae... lita?"  
  
"Your name's Aelita too? What a coincidence!"  
  
Jeremie realized what he said and quickly shook his head. "No, wait... I mean... my name's Jeremie."  
  
"Well, Jeremie, welcome."  
  
"Um... excuse me, Miss Aelita, but... where are you contacting me from?"  
  
"From Lyoko."  
  
"What's a... Lyoko?" Jeremie asked as something behind him started giving out light. Jeremie turned and gasped.  
The floor projector had turned on and was projecting a larger than life image of what looked like a planet. The  
planet (Jeremie didn't know what else to call it) seemed to be devided into topographical regions. It wasn't  
un-like Earth.  
  
From behind him came Aelita's voice. "That's Lyoko."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Jeremie was a quick study, he seemed to understand the physics of Lyoko even better than I did," Aelita concluded.  
  
"He is a quick study," Ulrich agreed.  
  
Odd laughed. "Oh man, I would've loved to see Jeremie's face when you first called out to him. It must've been  
priceless."  
  
Aelita also laughed. "What was even better was his face upon seeing Lyoko. I thought he was going to faint."  
  
"Maybe..." Ulrich pondered. "That one of the Engineers who built the super computer... maybe they were the ones  
who hacked past Jeremie's protection."  
  
"You don't think it was Xana pulling a fast one on us, don't you?"  
  
"I doubt it," Aelita replied. "There would be no logic in that."  
  
"Well you can't blame me for asking," Odd commented. "I mean after all, Xana has been after you from the get-go."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
(The same day as the first meeting of Jeremie and Aelita)  
  
"This system's incredible!" Jeremie gasped. "I've never seen anything so advanced before, it's not like anything  
we have on Earth."  
  
"And that's just the basic software," Aelita explained. "Wait 'til I show you the virtualization system..."  
Aelita suddenly gasped.  
  
"Miss Aelita, what's wrong?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"He's awake! But... this isn't possible!"  
  
"Who's awake?"  
  
"Xana!"  
  
"Xana?"  
  
Aelita nodded. "Xana is this evil presence who seems to have full control over Lyoko. He sometimes sends his  
monsters after me but I always escape. He's never been this bold before."  
  
"What's he doing? Maybe I can help!"  
  
"He's trying to access another computer network. He must be doing it by using a tower. Towers enable me to  
travel from one region of Lyoko to the next but they also are able to access other systems." Aelita explained  
how the towers worked to Jeremie and the boy immediately understood. The tower that Xana had been using to  
access the Internet was in the forest region. Aelita ran to it but encountered one of Xana's minions, a Block.  
The block fired its laser taking Aelita down ten life points (as Jeremie read from the status screen).  
  
"Miss Aelita, can't you do anything about it?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"Yes I can," Aelita confirmed. She got down on both knees and made a triangle gesture with her hands. She  
opened her mouth and let out a melodic sound.  
  
Jeremie thought it was the most beautiful thing he ever heard.  
  
A rock formed in mid-air and crushed the Block. Aelita continued on to the tower and shut it down.  
  
"So now what do we do?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"Now we can return to the past."  
  
"You mean like time travel?"  
  
Aelita didn't understand the phrase so she explained the program to Jeremie. "There's a program that's  
activated whenever a tower is shut down. It reverses the flow and returns everything to a time before the  
tower became active. Only people in the room you're in right now will retain knowledge of what happened."  
  
"Wow, that's cool. Show me how to do it, Miss Aelita."  
  
"It's all set up, just press the enter key. Oh... and Jeremie?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You... don't have to call me Miss Aelita. Just plain old Aelita is okay by me."  
  
"Okay, Mi... I mean Aelita."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Odd was rolling on the floor with laughter. "What's so funny?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"I can't believe it," Odd said.  
  
"What, that Aelita was able to beat a Block so easily?"  
  
"No, that Jeremie called Aelita 'Miss' when they're the same age. It's just too funny to imagine."  
  
"So, we returned to the past," Aelita finished. "Jeremie was even able to stop the bullies from picking on the  
little girl."  
  
"You know, I did feel a strange sense of de'ja vu that day," Odd commented.  
  
"Oh come on, Odd, you didn't even believe Jeremie when he first told you about Lyoko," Ulrich pointed out.  
  
"Neither did you," Odd countered.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
(2 days later)  
  
"I'm telling you guys it's all true!" Jeremie said to Ulrich and Odd in the cafeteria. "I even talked to  
her and everything!"  
  
"Jeremie, I think that fall must've rattled that oversize brain of yours," Odd commented. "I mean geez, what   
you're describing sounds almost alien."  
  
"I agree with Odd, Jeremie, it's rather hard to believe."  
  
"Fine, I'll just show you guys tonight. Meet me in the park. I'll take you to see her then." He then walked  
away.  
  
"What do you think?" Ulrich asked Odd.  
  
"I think he needs a social life," Odd commented.  
  
"Still... that factory was closed down years ago. I wonder why."  
  
"Probably bankruptcy," Odd said leaning back in his chair.  
  
"I'm going to meet up with Jeremie tonight," Ulrich decided. "You coming?"  
  
Odd sighed. "I still think this is just a waste of time. But... I'll come along, at the very least to keep  
an eye on you. I know how much of a rebel you can be."  
  
Ulrich smiled slyly. "Who, me?"  
  
"See any other Ulrich around here?"  
  
"Let's not tell anybody about this though. The last thing we need are tag-alongs."  
  
"You mean like us?"  
  
"Okay, let me rephrase that. The last thing we need are more tag-alongs."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"But as it turned out, we did have one more tag-along," Odd commented staring at Yumi. Yumi noticed that Ulrich   
and Aelita were also staring at her.  
  
"What?" She asked. "You guys were descending into the sewers in the middle of the night. Don't tell me that  
didn't look suspicious. I had to follow."  
  
"The fact that you were following us wasn't the problem," Ulrich said. "How you chose to introduce yourself,  
however, was."  
  
Yumi lowered her head in embarrassment. "Oh yeah..."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
(That night)  
  
"So tell me again WHY we're going down into the sewers?" Odd asked.  
  
"It's the only way I know how to get there," Jeremie commented. "Is the cover closed?"  
  
"Yup," Ulrich confirmed jiggling it just to be on the safe side. "I doubt anyone would choose to follow us  
down here."  
  
"And why would they?" Odd questioned. Jeremie lead them through the sewers. He knew the route even though it  
was next to pitch-black in there. They haven't gone far when they heard a clang sound.  
  
"What was that?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"I'll go check it out," Ulrich volunteered. He went back the way they came.  
  
Jeremie and Odd waited a while, then they heard Ulrich yelp in pain. They ran to check on him. "Ulrich, are  
you all right?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"Someone just kicked me," Ulrich said putting up his guard. "And they're still here." The three boys stood  
back-to-back.  
  
Ulrich saw it coming a split-second before it happened. He blocked the attacking foot with his forearm then  
grabbed it with both hands. He pushed it up causing the body it was attached to fall over. Ulrich moved in  
to grab the person who kicked him once and almost did it a second time but the body had vanished. "Hey Odd,"  
he called. "How about a little light?" Odd took out a pen flashlight and shined it around but he couldn't  
see anything.   
  
Ulrich was attacked again and this time, he couldn't block it. {Whoever did this was pretty good,} he thought.  
{They're using the darkness as cover and attacking randomly. But why can't I see anything? I mean I should at  
least be able to make out what clothes they're wearing.} "Odd, let me have the flashlight." Odd passed him the  
flashlight and Ulrich turned it off. He stood there in silence, waiting.  
  
The attacker kicked him again. Ulrich quickly shined the light and caught the butt of someone in black running  
back into the darkness.  
  
{That's it,} he thought. {They're wearing all black so that's why I can hardly see them.} Ulrich's thinking  
distracted him from the approaching kick and it knocked the flashlight from his hand. It fell to the ground.  
  
"Hey Jeremie," Odd whispered. "I have an idea. Get ready to go for the flashlight when I tell you to." He  
reached for something in his pocket. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" He announced. Apparently that was a code to Ulrich to  
duck down. Odd took out a water gun and fired around.  
  
"Aaaaahhh!" A voice cried. Actually, it sounded more surprised than physically hurt. Whatever the reason,  
it gave Ulrich the opportunity he needed. He executed a flawless Judo take-down.  
  
"Now!" Odd shouted. Jeremie dove for the light and shined it in the direction of the scream.  
  
It was a girl with shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. She wore a black shirt and pants which explained  
why they couldn't see her.  
  
"Turn off your brights," the girl requested blocking her eyes with her hand. Jeremie was shining the flashlight  
directly in her face. Jeremie apologized and moved the beam downward.  
  
"Just who are you?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"My name is Yumi," she introduced. "I'm a day student." A day student was a school term for someone who didn't  
live in the dorms. She must live close-by if she saw them.  
  
"Well I'm Ulrich and that's Odd and Jeremie. Now, Yumi, what were you doing in the sewers attacking us?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing," Yumi countered. "Three boys going into the sewers at night. I thought that  
you were up to no-good so I thought I should stop you."  
  
"What we're doing is none of your business," Ulrich countered.  
  
"Well, I guess we'll have to kill her now," Odd said casually twirling the water gun in his hand like he was in  
a spaghetti western.  
  
"Kill me!" Yumi gasped.  
  
"Yup, you know too much." Odd aimed the water gun at Yumi's head.  
  
"Wait a second, Odd," Jeremie spoke up. "We'll just have to take her with us."  
  
"All right," Ulrich grumbled. "But I'm bringing up the rear making sure she doesn't try anything tricky." He  
cast a suspicious glance at Yumi.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"And that was the beginning of a beautiful relaionshYEOW!" Ulrich slammed his fist down on Odd's tail interrupting  
his sentence. "Hey, careful on the tail, that's my early-warning system." He cradled his tail. "Sheesh, first  
Xana, now you. What is this, beat up on Odd month?"  
  
"Which reminds me. Hey Jeremie, any luck on fixing the system freeze?" Aelita only received silence. "I guess he  
and Xana are still trying to fix it."  
  
"Speaking of Xana," Yumi said. "Remember our first battle with Xana's monsters?"  
  
"It's hard to forget our first battle," Ulrich commented.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
(2 Weeks Later)  
  
Jeremie had called them to the factory. The boy had been spending most of his free time there learning the ins and   
outs of Lyoko.  
  
When they arrived at the factory, Jeremie was already in the lab.  
  
"So what's happening, genious?" Odd asked  
  
"I have a gift for you guys." Jeremie turned one of the monitors to face the other three. On the screen were three  
figures that looked like the three of them.  
  
"What are they?" Yumi asked staring at the female in the kimono with the hair pulled up in a bun and holding two  
fans.  
  
"They're avatars. You can use these when you go to Lyoko."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ulrich interrupted Jeremie's explanation. "Are you sure it's safe?"  
  
"Aelita told me that the scanners are in perfect condition and she hasn't had one mishap with them ever."  
  
"And how many times has Aelita used the scanners?"  
  
"Well... if you include this time... once."  
  
"Well that's it for me, good night, everybody!" Odd said waving and heading for the elevator.  
  
"Wait, Odd!" Jeremie protested.  
  
"Look, Jeremie," Ulrich said. "You're talking about using some untested technology that we have no clue how it  
works or even how it got here in the first place. It's just too dangerous."  
  
"But Ulrich, I..."  
  
"Jeremie!" Aelita cried.  
  
"Aelita, what's wrong?"  
  
"It's Xana, he's attacking me! I saw his activated tower and now he's sending his Hornets after me!"  
  
Jeremie turned towards the screen. "Aelita, can't you use your powers like you did last time?"  
  
"There's too many of them, I... AAAHHHH!"  
  
"Aelita!" Jeremie turned towards the others. "Are you going to just stand there while Aelita gets hurt or  
even worse?"  
  
"Jeremie, she isn't even human," Yumi argued.  
  
"So? Does that give us the right to just ignore a cry for help? If you were in her place, how would you feel?"  
  
"I hate to say it," Ulrich said to Yumi. "But he's right. Human or not, someone's in trouble and we're the  
only ones who can help."  
  
"Yeah," Yumi agreed. "I couldn't live with myself if I ignored a call for help. Let's do it!"  
  
"What we're doing is absolutely crazy," Odd said. "But... if you guys are doing it, then I might as well."  
  
Jeremie smiled. "Thanks, you guys. I owe you big. He sat back down in his chair. "Take the elevator down  
one level. You'll see three capsule-like chambers. Each of you enter one and just stand there."  
  
Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd complied with Jeremie's instructions. One level down from the control room was another  
room, yellow in color. Three small chambers, barely enough to fit a person, maybe two, were waiting for them.  
Each of them entered a scanner.  
  
"Okay, uploading avatars into Lyoko system. Transferring Ulrich avatar. Transferring Yumi avatar.  
Transferring Odd avatar. Activating scanners." Each of the three children felt a force take hold of them  
and raised them. "Scanning of Ulrich completed. Scanning of Yumi completed. Scanning of Odd completed.  
Beginning virtualization!"  
  
When Ulrich opened his eyes, he didn't find himself inside the chamber, but rather in a forest area. Trees  
lined the path with nothingness in the distance.  
  
"So this is Lyoko," Ulrich said. The looked down at himself. He was wearing a yellow and black ninja-like  
outfit complete with headband and sword sheathed at his side. He looked at Yumi and Odd. Yumi's face was  
painted white and she was dressed in a kimono. Odd looked like a half-man, half-cat with huge cat gloves.  
  
"Hey, look at this," Odd said looking over himself. "I look cool."  
  
"For once," Ulrich threw in.  
  
"Welcome to Lyoko," a new voice greeted. Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd turned to see Aelita walking up to them.  
"I'm Aelita."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Aelita," Ulrich returned. "I'm Ulrich and that's Yumi and Odd."  
  
"Jeremie has told us so much about you," Yumi said.  
  
"Jeremie has told me so much about you as well," Aelita threw in.  
  
"Good, now that we've all introduced, how about introducing who your flying friends are?" Odd pointed to  
the group of insects that were flying towards them.  
  
"Oh no," Aelita gasped. "The hornets were closer than I thought."  
  
"Then I guess this is where we come in," Ulrich decided drawing his sword.  
  
"I just hope we can win," Yumi said pulling out a fan.  
  
"Hey genius," Odd called. "You forgot to give me a weapon."  
  
"Your weapon's built into your glove," Jeremie explained.  
  
"Oh, well that helps. All right, take this!"  
  
And the battle began.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Not that I think about it," Odd said. "If it wasn't for Jeremie, we probably wouldn't be here in the first  
place." He waved his hands in front of him as he caught Aelita's shocked expression and Yumi and Ulrich's scowl.  
"I'm not saying that to be accusing, all I'm saying is that if it wasn't for Jeremie, we wouldn't have met each  
other to begin with."  
  
"It was Jeremie that first fueled my interest in becoming human," Aelita commented. "He described it so  
eloquently that I just had to experience being a human for myself, even if it's just for a little while."  
  
"I guess we owe a lot to that kid," Ulrich commented.  
  
"Yeah," Yumi agreed. "He changed my life definitely." She cast Ulrich a side glance.  
  
"Hey guys, still alive in there?"  
  
"Well speak of the devil," Odd said standing up. "We're here, Jeremie."  
  
"I have good news. Xana and I have debugged the system. We're ready to bring you home."  
  
"Then make like Nike and just do it," Ulrich cracked. One by one, they dissolved. Aelita was first, then Odd,  
and then Ulrich and Yumi together.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Back in the real world, the group went up to the control room. Jeremie was in his usual place.  
  
"So, guys, how was your little vacation?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"Not bad," Odd commented.  
  
Jeremie gave them a small smile. "Do anything fun?"  
  
"Nah, just sat around and talked," Ulrich answered.  
  
"Actually," Odd rebuked. "We did realize something."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"We realized that we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."  
  
Jeremie was confused. "So... um... is that a good thing or a bad thing?"  
  
Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd all looked at each other before replying at the same time, "Good thing."  
  
Odd patted Aelita's shoulder while adding, "Especially for 'Miss Aelita' over here."  
  
"Miss Ae..." Jeremie slapped his head with his palm. "Aelita, you didn't tell them, did you?"  
  
"Sorry, Jeremie, I did."  
  
"Hey look," Odd pointed to Jeremie's cheeks. "He's blushing. Our little genius is blushing."  
  
And everyone had a good laugh, especially Jeremie.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Still confused as to what's going on? Well, worry no more. For in the next chapter, Xana will explain everything!  
Well... mostly everything. 


	8. The Xana Files

Code: Lyoko  
  
The Xana Files  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The title is actually a play on the title of two television shows. Try to guess which ones. :-D  
  
Review Response:  
  
fire inu: They don't show Xana right-out. The only way us viewers can see him is because of the symbol. In chapter  
2 of my fic., I gave Xana a body (though not a head). The body contains his core consciousness. But don't forget  
like all computer programs, he can produce off-springs or copies of himself. In short, the Xana that fights the  
Invaders is the core Xana, but he can upload himself as well.  
  
Samster: Here's your Xana-centered fic. And when I say center, I do mean center.  
  
I am not nor bare any relation towards anyone who works with Code: Lyoko. I'm just a simple viewer who wants to see  
what happens if he was in the Captain's chair.  
  
Abstract: See stuff from Xana's point of view.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
...........  
  
-Beginning Startup Procedure  
  
Procedure 55% completed  
Procedure 83% completed  
Procedure 99% completed  
  
Procedure setup complete.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Designate: X Aritificial Network and Armory  
Code name: X.A.N.A.  
Alias: Xana  
  
[Accessing Directive Archives]  
  
Directives:  
1. Repulse outside influences to designate: Lyoko.  
2. Maintain structure of Lyoko  
3. Protect A.ldlkciduwelii.stall slalsljmessutseesc  
4. a;lsldkfjglalietuawkzajdTllakjesik  
  
File corrupted, ending file.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Accessing General Archives]  
  
[Accessing Background Analysis based on current scenario]  
  
Primary analysis of situation indicates attack on designate: Lyoko by unknown parties designate: Invaders. Initial  
conflict with Invaders resulted in complete defeat of this unit. It was the conclusion of this unit that additional   
forces would be needed. Archival footige shows that previous outside influences have been successful in keeping  
this unit from fufilling Directives 1 and 2. Compatability with previous outside influences designate: Ulrich, Yumi,  
Odd, and Jeremie was needed to ensure survival of this unit and overall fufillment of Directives 1 and 2.  
  
Ending File  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Accessing Ally Files:  
  
[Opening File: Aelita]  
  
Designate: Aelita  
  
Current Affiliation: Ally  
  
Strength: 28% (pre-upgrade), 67% (post-upgrade)  
  
Speed: 68% (pre-upgrade), 72% (post-upgrade)  
  
Agility: 70% (pre-upgrade), 89% (post-upgrade)  
  
Endurance: 25% (pre-upgrade), 79% (post-upgrade)  
  
Abilities: Designate maintains ability to manipulate/synthesize Lyoko landscape. Powers enhanced due to upgrade by this   
unit through use of weapon designate: Lyoko Wand.  
  
Primary Directive: Maintain surveilance of Lyoko, Repulse outside influences.  
  
Integrity of Directive: 45%  
  
Notes: Directive integrity compromised due to outside influence contaminating central network of designate. All efforts   
to repair designate has been abandoned pending completion of current mission.  
  
[FURTHER ACCESS TO FILE RESTRICTED PENDING ACCESS CODE.]  
  
[Closing File]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Opening File: Jeremie]  
  
Designate: Jeremie  
  
Current Affiliation: Ally  
  
Former Affiliation: Enemy  
  
Strength: ?  
  
Speed: ?  
  
Agility: ?  
  
Endurance: ?  
  
Abilities: Advanced system manipulation skills.  
  
Primary Directive: Tactical adviser to this unit and other Lyoko defenses.  
  
Integrity of Directive: 95%  
  
Notes: All attempts to establish visual of designate failed. Communication is maintain through third-party relays and   
visual text. Knowledge of Lyoko system and this unit due to comprehensive uploading on independent system. Maintains   
constant auditory communication with designate: Aelita.  
  
Transcript of communication available.  
Access:  
Cancel:   
  
Access File: Aelita?  
Yes:  
NO:   
  
[Closing File]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Opening File: Odd]  
  
Designate: Odd  
  
Current Affiliation: Ally  
  
Former Affiliation: Enemy  
  
Strength: 39% (pre-upgrade), 65% (post-upgrade)  
  
Speed: 45% (pre-upgrade), 70% (post-upgrade)  
  
Agility: 65% (pre-upgrade), 90% (post-upgrade)  
  
Endurance: 35% (pre-upgrade), 50% (post-upgrade)  
  
Abilities: Upgrade by this unit gives designate advanced detection abilities through tail, ability to create arcs of   
energy designate: "Laser Crescent." Size of attack varies on strength and speed. Weapon designate: Wrist Claws.  
  
Primary Directive: Protection of Lyoko  
  
Integrity of Directive: 98%  
  
Notes: Designate exhibits caution towards this unit. Attempts to dissolve it 60% completed. Sometimes exhibits   
hostility towards other designates. Duration of hostility: 0:10 seconds. Further analysis of designate needed.  
  
Transcript available.  
Access:   
Cancel  
  
[Accessing Transcript.]  
  
"Hey, we're trying to help you here, you ding bat!"  
  
"I think you're a little late on that, genius."  
  
"Whoa, take a look at me! I actually look cool."  
  
End Transcript.  
  
[Closing File]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Opening File: Ulrich]  
  
Designate: Ulrich  
  
Current Affiliation: Ally  
  
Former Affiliation: Enemy  
  
Strength: 60% (pre-upgrade), 90% (post-upgrade)  
  
Speed: 80% (pre-upgrade), 86% (post-upgrade)  
  
Agility: 75% (pre-upgrade), 83% (post-upgrade)  
  
Endurance: 45% (pre-upgrade), 70% (post-upgrade)  
  
Abilities: Upgrade by this unit gives designate ability to create powerful waves of energy capable of devastating  
multiple targets at once. Energy waves channeled through weapon designate: "Twin Kitanas." Further abilities are   
V;lkj;lksjfjk;ladiopw.a;lakldljdflkueujdkslid  
  
[File partially corrupted, running all known decoding programs.]  
  
[Closing File]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Decoding programs 0% successful. Bypass decryption protocols, continue file.]  
  
[Opening File: Ulrich (continued)]  
  
Primary Objective: Protection of Lyoko  
  
Integrity of Directive: 95%  
  
Notes: First target of upgrade. Scans by this unit detected several imperfections in designate caused by this unit  
while inhabiting designate Yumi  
  
Access File: Yumi?  
Yes:  
No:   
  
Despite physical imperfections and extreme caution of this unit, designate agreed to upgrade. Suspicion of further  
strength capable with designate Yumi. Accessing Archival footige from tower battle with monster: Polar Claw.  
  
[Begin Archive]  
  
"I'm going in. Yumi, cover me!"  
  
"You got it." Ulrich faced off with the Polar Claw. Yumi made a sign with her hands. "Mystic Aura... energize!"  
Ulrich's blade was enchanted with energy.  
  
"Mega Energy Wave!" The giant energy blast shot the Polar Claw to the other end of the room. Ulrich moved in for close-  
range combat while Yumi utilized her aura to increase Ulrich's power.  
  
End Archive  
  
Reason for this compatability unknown and will be investigated to see advantages for this unit.  
  
[Closing File.]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Opening File: Yumi]  
  
Designate: Yumi  
  
Current Affiliation: Ally  
  
Former Affiliation: Enemy  
  
Strength: 40% (pre-upgrade), 60% (post-upgrade)  
  
Speed: 45% (pre-upgrade), 55% (post-upgrade)  
  
Agility: 25% (pre-upgrade), 50% (post-upgrade)  
  
Endurance: 50% (pre-upgrade), 80% (post-upgrade)  
  
Abilities: Upgrade by this unit gives designate ability to perform wide variety of skills using energy designate "Mystic  
Aura." WARNING: Constant use of Mystic Aura will deplete energy and eventually life points. Weapon given as result of  
upgrade designate: Disk Launchers. Suspicion of further strength capable with designate Ulrich.  
  
[Access File: Ulrich?]  
Yes:  
No:   
  
Reason for compatability unknown and will be investigated.  
  
Primary Directive: Protection of Lyoko  
  
Integrity of Directive: 60%  
  
Notes: Analysis by this unit concludes that designate is weakest of all designates. This unit attempted to gain access  
to designate through internal structure. Control was absolute. Actions of designate controlled by this unit including   
attacking designate: Ulrich. Investigating possiblity of future upgrading.  
  
[Closing File]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Closing Ally Archives]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Opening Enemy Archives]  
  
[Opening File: Invaders]  
  
Designate: Invaders  
  
Current Affiliation: Enemy  
  
Strength: Varied  
  
Speed: Varied  
  
Agility: Varied  
  
Endurance: Varied  
  
Abilities: Known abilities: transforming towers into black Obelisks with surrounding mazes. WARNING: Traps randomly  
placed through each maze. Trap damage: -25. Dispatching monsters to challenge this unit and allies.  
  
Primary Directive: Unknown (suspicion of destabilizing structural integrity of designate: Lyoko)  
  
Integrity of Directive: 100%  
  
Notes: Exact origin unknown. Strength 75% surpasses this unit and and associated monsters.  
  
[Closing File]  
  
[Closing Enemy Archives]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Accessing Chronological Summary of actions]  
  
Note: Calculations based on "Feldman Dating System"  
  
[Accessing information on "Feldman Dating System" for conversion.]  
  
[WARNING: AN ILLEGAL FILE HAS BEEN ACCESSED. A RECORD OF THIS ACTION HAS BEEN LOGGED.]  
  
[Conversion failed. Running file.]  
  
1082759275: First sighting of designates: Ulrich, Yumi, Odd  
1256829582: Primary Mission of repulsion of designates: Ulrich, Yumi, Odd 33% completed with lost of   
designate: Yumi to digital void.  
1256829599: Secondary Analysis proves primary analysis in error with reappearance of designate: Yumi.  
1492349682: Designates Yumi, Ulrich, Odd attempt to remove designate: Aelita from designate: Lyoko successful, this unit   
initiates data link to designate: Aelita to maintain survival.  
1509824358: Access to system of designates: Ulrich, Yumi, Odd achieved, beginning dispataching monsters for   
retrieval of designate: Aelita. First visual conatact with designate: Jeremie, identity confirmed.  
1509845325: Designate: Aelita returns to Lyoko, data link remains.  
2539076272: This unit gains control of designate: Yumi, attacks designate: Ulrich.  
2683584912: Designate: Aelita challenges this unit to combat, first appearance of designate: Invaders.  
2683585036: This unit initiates upgrades to designates: Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, and Yumi.  
2695682349: Unknown party hacks into Lyoko system, initiates system freeze.  
2700008275: Current Mark  
  
[Closing Chronological Summary]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Initiating Lyoko scan.]  
  
Scan 45% completed.  
Scan 56% completed.  
Scan 78% completed.  
  
[Scan completed. Visual of designate: Invaders negative.]  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
[Opening Battle Archives.]  
  
[Analyzing Battles for optimum strategy.]  
  
Xana commanded his fleet of hornets to attack while Aelita formed spikes and fired them. The spikes manage to   
destroy some of them but the hornets were destroyed by the black smoke. The fish began flying down. The moment  
they hit something, both the object and them were destroyed.  
  
Xana leaped up to the air and struck all of the skeletons down with his spear. But more begn appearing. Xana's   
monsters weren't faring so well. Their lasers weren't having any effect on these new monsters.  
  
The purple being ordered its monsters to attack. The monsters ganged up on Xana and forced him away from the others.  
  
More Blow Fish appeared in the air. They all shot at Xana like missiles. As hard as Xana tried, they struck it with  
incredible force.  
  
Xana formed his spear and charged both the Skeleton monsters. He swung his spear several times but the   
Skeletons were very agile. They were hard to hit. Xana summoned a Mega Tank and sent it rolling towards them.  
But the deadly smoke melted it to a puddle of goo. Xana got quicker with his moves. He actually stabbed one in   
the arm.  
  
[Analysis complete.]  
  
Chance of Singular Victory: 25%.  
Chance of Victory compatable with other designates: 87%.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Final Analysis:  
  
Fufillment of Directives:  
1. 45% completed.  
2. 78% completed.  
3. ?  
4. ?  
  
Further communication with designates Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd is needed to repulse designate: Invaders. Maintaining  
data link with designate: Aelita will prevent personal attack on this unit. Designates: Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Jeremie   
exhibit traits of compatability when this unit guards designates against attacks on them, especially designate: Aelita.   
Further actions like mentioned earlier is recommended in order to continue further survival. Because of the unknown  
duration of the attack of the Invaders, exhibition of compatability must continue if this unit and designate: Lyoko is  
to survive.  
  
End Analysis.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Status Report: Files missing/corrupted. Running scan...  
  
...  
  
....  
  
.....  
  
Scan complete.  
  
Files corrupted: 56  
Files missing/unaccessable: 25.  
  
Begin running decryption program, all protocols. Primary Target: Encryption block on portion of file designate:   
Aelita.  
  
[Initiating Standby Mode.]  
  
End.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The next chapter will be the first part of a two-parter. Ulrich's disappeared and the Invaders launch a new attack.  
Problem is, the two aren't related. 


	9. Sins of the Father Pt 1

Code: Lyoko  
  
Sins of the Father (Pt. 1)  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
You guys read right, this will be a three-parter. It will mostly take place in the real world but there will be   
Lyoko scenes too. There will be a cool Lyoko battle towards the end, but this'll mostly be a mystery story.  
Just be forewarned that this'll be different from some of the Code: Lyoko that you'll be used to.  
  
Warning: This is a long one, you might want to get something to eat before you begin.  
  
Review Response:  
  
Chibi-Suiko: The reason is actually fairly simple. I did my research. You know, watch a few episodes, visit the  
web site, that sort of thing. I still have no clue as to how all this came about, but I'm adjusting.  
  
I've given up on disclaimers. After eight chapters of them, I should hope it would be obvious for you guys.  
  
Abstract: Ulrich's gone and it's up to Team Lyoko (my own personal name for them) to figure out where he is.  
One problem though: the prime suspect in the disappearance is... Yumi!  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
There was a clank of soda cans as Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita celebrated the completion of the fourth  
scanner on the upper level of the factory. It had taken more than a month with a small workteam of monsters  
materialized by Xana helping along, but it finally was done.  
  
"I thought we would never finish it," Jeremie said. "Having a little extra help did make things go by quicker."  
  
"Even if that help was machines originally built for battle?" Yumi asked.  
  
Jeremie nodded. Then turned to Aelita. "Hey Aelita, don't drink so fast, you'll give yourself an upset stomach."  
  
"Oh, sorry, Jeremie," the girl replied. "But this soda is very good. I never tasted anything like it before."  
  
Yumi whispered to Jeremie, "I think Odd lit a time-bomb here introducing Aelita to soda."  
  
Jeremie agreed. "Hey Odd, I think you created a soda monster out of Ae..."  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Yes way!" The sound of Ulrich and Odd arguing caught their attention and the three turned to watch this mini-  
spectacle.  
  
"Come on, I've heard you before, you couldn't get anything higher than a 3.0."  
  
"Care to test that theory right here and now?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"You bet!" Odd took a long drink of his soda then let out a loud belch. "Beat that, hot shot."  
  
"With pleasure." Ulrich took a sip of his own soda and let out a belch that was a little louder than Odd's.  
"It's just a matter of getting enough air."  
  
"They are such children," Yumi said shaking her head.  
  
"Simple minds, simple pleasures," Jeremie quoted. A very loud belch that sounded more like a low rumble came  
from next to them. Everyone stared at Aelita with shocked expressions.  
  
"Oh, sorry, everyone," Aelita apologized covering her mouth. "I don't know what came over me."  
  
"I don't believe it," Odd gasped. "A girl who literally came out of a computer is a better belcher than me."  
  
"Sorry, Odd."  
  
"Aelita, don't be sorry," Ulrich said. "Odd needed to be belched down a peg." The others laughed  
at Ulrich's comment. Ulrich caught Yumi glancing at him and smiling. He returned her smile with one of his  
own. Althought it was difficult for him to admit it, especially to himself, but his affection of her was  
growing into, and he really hated to jinx himself like this, love. Don't get him wrong, all of them had grown  
especially close, all due to Lyoko, but for two who originally started out as brutal opponents to have grown  
so close, that's got to say something.  
  
Yumi was feeling the same way, but for different reasons. For some reason, she couldn't get the words that he  
said when they returned to Earth after Xana upgraded them off of her mind.  
  
["I'd rather have you for a friend than have you depressed."]  
  
A friend, just a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.  
  
"So, who wants to be my first guinea pig?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"What?" Yumi asked distracted.  
  
"Who wants to be the first to use the fourth scanner?"  
  
"Ooh, I will, I will," Odd volunteered.  
  
"Your choice," Jeremie said as if he meant to say 'your funeral.' "Let's go down to the lab."  
  
As the group was heading for the elevator, Ulrich's cell phone rang. "Hello?"  
  
"Ulrich, where are you?" It was his Dad and he sounded frantic.  
  
"I'm just out with some friends. Don't worry, we were..."  
  
"Never mind," his Dad interrupted. "Listen very closely, Ulrich. Go to the dorms and wait for me to call  
you."  
  
"Huh? But..."  
  
"Don't ask questions, Ulrich, just do it."  
  
"All right, all right, just let me tell my friends where I'm going..."  
  
"No, don't tell anybody. Just go. Look, Ulrich, this is important. I promise I'll explain everything  
later on. Please, just go."  
  
"Okay, later," Ulrich said hanging up my phone. "Sorry, guys, but I have to go."  
  
"Where are you going?" Yumi asked.  
  
Ulrich paused. He knew he should obey his father and not tell them that something's wrong, but he  
couldn't just blow them off.  
  
"Something just came up," he said with a smile. "I'll see you guys later." And he went through the exit.  
  
"Ulrich, wait!" Yumi called. "Is something wrong? We can help if you'll let us."  
  
Ulrich paused, then turned to her. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you later, Yumi." And he headed over to the  
hatch that lead to the sewers.  
  
"Yumi," Aelita called. "Jeremie's already set up to virtualize Odd." With one last look at the disappearing  
Ulrich, Yumi joined Aelita by the elevator. The girls went down to the control room.  
  
"So, Odd, what do you think?" Jeremie asked.  
  
The new scanner was a futuristic silver color. The position of the other three scanners had to be moved   
but Jeremie didn't believe that it affected anything. The new scanner still had some exposed circuitry and a  
porthole on the door that looked like the Lyoko symbol.  
  
"I'm just beating back a 'beam me up, Scotty' comment," Odd replied.  
  
"I think that means he likes it," Yumi whispered to Jeremie.  
  
"Ah. Okay, here we go. Transfer, Odd." The porthole was raised by a metal bar above it leaving a small crack  
in between the doors. The doors parted like elevator doors. Odd entered the scanner. The inside was also  
silver with a blue ring around it. The door closed. "Scanner, Odd." The blue ring began humming lightly as it  
shone light over Odd. "Virtualization!"  
  
On Jeremie's monitor, they saw Odd appear in his avatar form. "How do you feel Odd?"  
  
"Hungry," Odd replied. "But that's natural for me."  
  
"Looks like the plunge was successful," Jeremie concluded. "All right, Odd, try moving around."  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
That evening, Odd returned to his room in good spirits. The test run of the fourth scanner was a success. Next  
thing would be to test it along with the other three scanners.  
  
"Hey Ulrich," Odd called as he entered the room. "You missed a great show. I played tag with one of Xana's  
Roachsters and..." It was then that Odd realized that the room was empty of human presence. Kiwi was sleeping in his  
bed/drawer. Odd shrugged and climbed into bed.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
When Odd woke the next morning, the first thing he did was look towards Ulrich's bed. It looked made, like nobody  
slept in it.  
  
{That's not like Ulrich,} Odd thought. {He would never make his bed, and especially not in the morning. The last  
time he made his bed was yesterday.} Odd dressed and ran to breakfast. Jeremie and Aelita were sitting at their  
usual table speaking some sort of computer jargon.  
  
"Morning," Odd greeted. Jeremie and Aelita returned it.  
  
"Where's Ulrich?" Aelita asked.  
  
"Beats me. He never came home last night."  
  
"That's not like Ulrich," Jeremie commented.  
  
"That's just what I was thinking," Odd agreed.  
  
"Maybe Yumi knows," Jeremie suggested.  
  
"I don't think Yumi would know where Ulrich is unless she was with him all night," Aelita commented.  
  
Odd raised an eyebrow towards Jeremie and smiled. "Maybe she was."  
  
"But what could the two of them be doing for a whole night?" Aelita wondered.  
  
Odd chuckled and patted her on the head. "I'll tell you when you're older, Aelita. In the mean time, let's get  
to Miss O'Connor's class. With any luck, Ulrich will be there."  
  
But when Odd and Aelita came into Miss O'Connor's classroom, they didn't see Ulrich there.  
  
And they weren't the only ones who noticed. When Miss O'Connor called Ulrich's name, she only got silence. She looked  
at Odd. "Odd, d'ye know where Ulrich is?"  
  
"No, ma'am, I don't," Odd replied truthfully.  
  
"Okay then."  
  
Odd, Aelita and Jeremie didn't see Ulrich at all that day. They met Yumi at their usual place that afternoon.  
  
"Hey, guys, where's Ulrich?" Were the first words out of her mouth.  
  
"We were hoping you could tell us," Odd replied.  
  
"Why are you asking me? I haven't seen him since he left the factory yesterday."  
  
"This is serious, guys," Jeremie said. "If none of us knows where Ulrich is, then it's possible that something bad's  
happened to him."  
  
Yumi gasped. Then composed herself. "Wait a second, we all know Ulrich, he can take care of himself. He... he's  
probably just doing this to give us a scare. I bet he'll show up tomorrow."  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
But Ulrich wasn't seen the next day. Yumi started to get really worried. Ulrich would never play a trick like this,  
especially not on his friends. The others were also worried.  
  
Odd had just returned to the dorms and was trying to do homework (but his mind was still on Ulrich) when there was a  
sharp knock on his door. He opened it to see Jim there with a sharply-dressed man. Odd recognized him as Ulrich's  
father.  
  
"Odd, I'm sure you met Omero."  
  
"Yes. It's an honor to see you again, sir." Ulrich told Odd how strict his father could be so being ultra-polite was  
the only way to walk away with everything intact.  
  
"I am looking for my son," Omero said. "Do you know where he is?"  
  
"No, sir," Odd replied. "I hadn't seen him since day before yesterday."  
  
"Where?" Omero snapped. "Tell me where you last saw him." Odd was in a jam, either tell the truth and divulge the  
secrets of the factory or lie and risk getting in trouble by the principal. Well, when face with a challenge like this,  
there's only one thing to do: compromise.  
  
"I think I saw him heading for the park."  
  
Omero grabbed Odd by the collar. "You think? Be absolutely certain! Is that where you saw him?!"  
  
"Hey, hey, calm down," Jim said. "Beating up on kids won't solve anything." Omero put Odd down.  
  
Odd sighed. "There are two places where I think he could be. One is the park, the other is the abandoned factory by  
the waterfront."  
  
"And why would he be there?" Jim asked eyeing Odd. Odd just shrugged. "All right. We'll check the park first. If  
he's not there, then we'll search the factory. Thanks, Odd." And they left. As soon as they did, Odd took out his  
cell phone and speed-dialed Jeremie. "Jeremie, we have a problem..."  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Not to worry, Odd," Jeremie assured him as they and Aelita conversed in the factory later that day. "I had a  
feeling something like this would happen." He pressed a few buttons on his keyboard and a metal garage door slid over  
the entrance. "I had it installed during construction on the fourth scanner."  
  
"But Jeremie, what about Yumi?" Aelita asked. "I called her and asked her to drop by."  
  
Jeremie moaned. Apparently, that was something he hadn't counted on.  
  
It was then that outside, Jim and Omero came up to the entrance of the factory. Jim ran his hand over the metal door.  
"I doubt that Ulrich would be in here. This place has been closed for years."  
  
"Would they..." Omero muttered. Jim looked at him questioning. "Never mind."  
  
A small gasp came from behind them. They turned to see Yumi staggering back in fright. "It's Yumi," Jim realized.  
Yumi turned and started to run back the way she came. But Omero was much faster and grabbed her by the back of her  
tank top. He quickly incapacitated her arms. "Where is he? Where's my son?!"  
  
Jim rolled his eyes. When the principal asked him to help locate Ulrich, playing bouncer wasn't what he had in mind.  
Then again, he didn't realize that Ulrich's father had such a short temper. He pulled them apart and addressed Yumi  
with his normal stoicness and firmness. "Yumi, we're looking for Ulrich. Have you seen him?"  
  
"Not in the past couple of days," Yumi replied as Omero reluctantly released her arms. "He got a strange call some  
time ago and he left without saying anything to me. It's strange since Ulrich normally tells us everything."  
  
Omero's cell phone rang. The talking was primarily done by the person calling him because Omero did not speak  
until he hanged up. "Excuse me, I must go."  
  
"Sorry about that, Yumi," Jim apologized. "He's really upset about not knowing where Ulrich is."  
  
"He's not the only one," Yumi muttered.  
  
Jim smiled at her. "If you see him, tell him his father's looking for him." And he walked away following after  
Omero.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jeremie gathered the others in the lab. Yumi had been let in. "All right, since we can't go to the police so we'll  
need to start our own search. Yumi, talk to everyone at school. Someone must've seen Ulrich. Aelita, use the  
super computer to hack into the Department of Missing Children and check for anyone matching Ulrich's description.   
I'll have Odd and Xana search Lyoko. I'd hate to think what would happen if this was an Invader plot."  
  
Everyone split up to do their assigned tasks. Yumi asked everyone she could find but nobody has seen Ulrich. Yumi  
took a small break as she checked in with Jeremie. "Jeremie? No, not yet. But I'll keep searching... no, I can  
continue, I don't need a break... right, thanks."  
  
"Yumi!" Yumi turned and saw Sissi stomping towards her with murder on her face. Yumi saw that she was ready to slug  
her so Yumi put up her guard and blocked the oncoming punch. "Where is he? Where's Ulrich?"  
  
"I don't know," Yumi replied.  
  
"Liar!" Sissi used her other hand and managed to catch Yumi's temple. The brute force of the punch forced Yumi to  
the ground. She was surprised that Sissi had a mean left hook. "Isn't it enough that you beat him up? Do you have  
to take it one-step further?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Yumi asked standing up.  
  
Sissi's eyes were bloodshot. "Don't play innocent with me! Everyone knows that it was you who beat up Ulrich just  
before the semester started!"  
  
Yumi knew what she was talking about. The time when Xana took control of her mind and made her almost kill Ulrich.  
  
"No, I didn't!" She argued.  
  
"Hah! No use lying your way out of this! You're the last person Ulrich talked to just before he disappeared."  
  
"Sissi, what's the meaning of this?" It was the principal. He was showing the new security system to a passing  
Investor and heard the commotion. It was soon after he appeared that Jim and Omero also arrived. Soon, they  
attracted a little crowd, including Milli and Tamille, equipped with a camera.  
  
"Daddy, I know she has a hand in Ulrich's disappearance. First she beats him up then she kidnapps him! I wouldn't  
be surprised if Ulrich ran away just to get away from her." The principal was still skepticle. Sissi turned to  
Jim. "You were there, Jim, you believe me."  
  
"Well... I did see her over by Ulrich beaten up," Jim admitted.  
  
"Please, sir, you have to believe me, I don't know where Ulrich is. I'm innocent."  
  
The principal pondered the situation before turning to Jim. "Jim, did you see Yumi attack Ulrich?"  
  
"No, sir," Jim replied.  
  
"I see... Sissi, unless you have physical evidence that it was Yumi, I'm afraid I can't accept your accusation.  
And even if you are correct, that gives you no right to physically attack somebody." He then turned to Yumi. "Yumi,  
I'm sorry, but I must ask you to remain at school until Ulrich is found. If it is discovered that you had a hand in  
Ulrich's disappearance, then I'm afraid that charges will have to be pressed."  
  
"Yes, sir," Yumi said quietly.  
  
"I'll arrange sleeping arrangements for you. Now, Sissi, you are coming with me." The principal dragged a protesting  
Sissi away and the audience dispersed.  
  
Yumi couldn't help but wonder if Sissi was right. Not about her having a hand in Ulrich's disappearance, but the  
possibility that Ulrich ran away because of her. "Maybe she's right."  
  
["Something just came up," he said with a smile. "I'll see you guys later."]  
  
["Don't worry about it. I'll see you later, Yumi."]  
  
Yumi repeated the last sentence he said to her. But... she was worried about him, worried sick. Was... was this what it's  
like to be in love?  
  
Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd came out of the shed that contained a hidden stairway to the tunnels. Odd was complaining,  
"Xana and I had been up and down Lyoko five times and we haven't found hide nor hair of him. I'm beat."  
  
"Yumi, what's wrong?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"The principal says I have to remain at school until Ulrich is found," Yumi said. "He might think I have a hand in it."  
  
"That's a lie! Come on, guys, let's go talk to the principal. We'll just tell her Yumi was with us for most of the  
time."  
  
"And be accused as conspirators?" Jeremie asked. "Odd, let's think about this."  
  
"I know it has something to do with that phone call he received," Aelita threw in.  
  
"His phone!" Jeremie realized. "That's it! I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier." Jeremie took out his own  
cell phone and dialed Ulrich's cell phone." He let it rang over twenty times before he hung up. "Nothing."  
  
"Wait, Jeremie," Odd said. "Call it again." He tilted his head as if he was listening for something. Jeremie dialed  
Ulrich's cell phone again.  
  
A faint ringing could be heard. Jeremie continued to let it ring. The four of them followed the noise to the bushes   
near the park.  
  
"Sounds like its coming from the ground," Jeremie commented.  
  
"You don't think they could've..." Aelita shivered to think what could've happened to Ulrich. Odd leaned into the  
bushes.  
  
"I found it!" He cried. He pushed the bushes aside to reveal Ulrich's cell phone, still closed.  
  
"Wait, Odd, don't touch it," Jeremie said. "It's evidence, we could get in trouble if we tamper with it. I'll go get  
Jim."  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jeremie couldn't sleep. Normally when he couldn't sleep, he would talk to Aelita or work on the materialization  
program. But Aelita wasn't in communication range and the materialization program was finished.  
  
Ulrich had disappeared, Yumi was the prime suspect and they couldn't tell the truth without putting them in even more  
trouble. The analysis of the cell phone revealed no fingerprints and the picture gallery held no visual evidence.  
Jeremie wished for a sign. What he got was a scuffle of feet that woke him up and even turned his blood into pure  
adrenaline. Jeremie crept to his door and threw it open.  
  
Milli and Tamille fell into the room. They had a camera with them.  
  
"What are you two doing here?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"Who's there?" It was Jim's voice. If he found Milli and Tamille in his room, they'll all be in trouble. Jeremie  
half-closed the door and pushed the two school reporters behind it. Jim peeked in. "Jeremie, you're suppose to be  
in bed."  
  
"Oh... uh... sorry, Jim, but I was... worried about Ulrich."  
  
"Hey, don't worry, the police will find him. That's why we called them in the first place."  
  
"You don't think Yumi really had a hand in his disappearance, do you?"  
  
"I'll tell you this, Yumi was acting really strange when I found them."  
  
{That's only because she realized Xana made her do it,} Jeremie thought and wanted to say.  
  
"Don't worry about Ulrich, just get some sleep."  
  
"Yes, sir," Jeremie said and Jim shut the door. He took a deep breath and turned to the two girls. "What do you two  
think you're doing? Do you know what time it is?"  
  
"Sorry, but we just need to know what's going on with the investigation," Milli protested.  
  
"And why are you asking me?"  
  
"Because you found his cell phone so you're our connection to the investigation. Now, it's my turn to ask questions."  
Tamille turned on the camera while Milli began brown-nosing Jeremie. "How was Ulrich acting before he disappeared?  
When did you last see him? Is it true that Yumi was behind the whole kidnapping?"  
  
"Hey, hey, hey, this isn't the time or the place..." Jeremie turned towards Tamille. "And get that camera out of my  
face..."  
  
The camera.  
  
The camera!  
  
THE CAMERA!  
  
"The camera," Jeremie whispered.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Uh... never mind, come on, it's back to bed for you two. If Jim finds you two up at night, we'll all be in serious  
trouble." That brought them to reality. They turned and snuck out.  
  
{Argh, I can't believe it. What's wrong with me today? I was so busy worrying about Ulrich that I ignored the  
blatantly obvious!} Jeremie sat at his laptop. "I better get Aelita and Xana in on this."  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Thanks to some coaxing from Aelita, Yumi was allowed to spend the night in her room. Before she went to sleep,  
Aelita noticed Yumi's face was streaked with tears.  
  
A light tapping brought Aelita out of her sleep, something that she had been enjoying immensely since she became human.  
"Aelita," came a whisper.  
  
Aelita immediately recognized the voice. "Jeremie?"  
  
Jeremie hushed her. "Not so loud, Jim's about." Aelita opened the door and Jeremie, dressed for out doors, snuck in.   
"Aelita, I figured out..." Jeremie noticed what Aelita was wearing and blushed. It was a pair of pink pajamas that   
were a bit too short for her (too short as in Jeremie could easily see her belly button).  
  
"Jeremie, what's wrong?" Aelita asked looking at Jeremie's red cheeks.  
  
"Um... oh yeah." Jeremie lowered his voice. "I know a way we can find Ulrich."  
  
"You can?!" Aelita exclaimed.  
  
Jeremie clamped his hand over her mouth and hushed her. "You'll wake Yumi." The two looked at Yumi but she didn't show  
any signs of awakening. Jeremie continued, "Yes, I can, but I'll need your help. I've already asked Xana and he agreed  
to help out."  
  
"Then I'll help out too," Aelita decided. "Let's go."  
  
"Right." Jeremie turned to leave but then turned back to look at Aelita. "Um... Aelita, you... might want to put some  
clothes on."  
  
"But I do have clothes on," Aelita argued showing off her PJs.  
  
Jeremie's blush lightened, but only by a little. "I mean something a bit more... fitting for going outside."  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
Minutes later, Jeremie and Aelita, in their normal clothes, snuck out of the dorms. "I forgot that the school   
recently had security cameras put in last week."  
  
"So you think they might've recorded Ulrich?" Aelita guessed. Jeremie nodded. "So why do you need me and Xana?"  
  
"Because when it comes to computers, you two are the experts. I'll explain later... wait." Jeremie braced the wall of  
the dorms and made Aelita do likewise. He pointed to a camera mounted on a corner of the building. "That's a  
security camera. It's sensitive to movement. If it catches us, we're doomed."  
  
"So how do we get past it?" Aelita asked.  
  
Jeremie just looked at his watch and counted down from five. A spark of electricity went through the camera and it  
shorted out.  
  
"Good job, Xana," Jeremie congratulated. "Come on, Aelita, it won't be out for long." Jeremie grabbed Aelita's hand  
and the two ran across to the next building. They reached past the camera's view angle just as the camera came back on.  
  
"I see," Aelita realized. "Xana activated a tower and is now short-circuiting the cameras."  
  
"Yes, but it's only temporary. If the camera goes off-line for more than ten seconds, it triggers an alarm."  
  
"Oh." Aelita and Jeremie moved silently through the campus grounds, dodging cameras. It was quite the exercise,   
so much so that they needed to take a break in the shed. "Hey Jeremie, how much farther do we need to go?"  
  
"Not much farther," Jeremie replied. "We just have one more camera to get by." The camera that Jeremie was talking  
about was the one that was aimed at the entrance to the main building. Jeremie saw it short-circuit. "All right,  
there's the signal, let's go!" Jeremie dashed out and kept on running until he was at the entrance. While he was  
trying to pick the door lock with a Phillip's Head screwdriver, Aelita started her own dash across the field.  
Suddenly she tripped and fell to the ground. It was then that the camera turned back on.  
  
"Aelita!" Jeremie shouted. "What's Xana doing?" Then a thought occured to him. What if... this wasn't Xana's work.  
Jeremie went into a baseball slide and grabbed Aelita. He tried to get the two of them out of the view of the camera  
but they were too slow. They would be spotted.  
  
They would have been, but the camera suddenly exploded. All the cameras begane exploding.  
  
Aelita turned to Jeremie. "I knew it!" Jeremie said. He held up his cell phone which was flashing the Lyoko symbol.  
"It's the Invaders! They've taken over the tower that Xana's using."  
  
"That means Xana's in danger," Aelita realized.  
  
"And so are you," Jeremie pointed out. "Come on, we need to get to the factory!"  
  
"But what about Yumi and Odd?"  
  
"I'll call Odd, but we should leave Yumi out this time around. She's already in deep trouble as it is." Aelita  
and Jeremie ran into the shed and took the back route to get to the factory. As Jeremie powered up the system,  
Aelita used Jeremie's cell phone to call Odd.  
  
"Aelita, it's dangerous, but you must go in and return the tower to normal. Then I'll use the past-return program."  
  
"Right." Aelita ran to the scanner room and got into one of the original three scanners.  
  
"Hang on tight, Aelita, your destination is the desert region," Jeremie told her. "Transfer, Aelita. Scanner...  
Virtualization!"  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Yumi groaned and opened her eyes. She forgot for a second that she was in Aelita's room. And she also forgot her  
situation.  
  
A faint light was coming from the open window. Yumi looked out and saw Jim grumbling to himself as he tried to fix a  
security camera on a ladder.  
  
"Jim?"  
  
"Yumi, go back to sleep, nothing's wrong," Jim said automatically.  
  
"How can I when you're making a racket right outside. What's wrong anyway?"  
  
"Nothing, just a short circuit." Yumi looked around. From her view, it looked like all the cameras short-circuited.  
  
{That's weird,} Yumi thought. {There's no way all the cameras could short circuit unless... it's the Invaders!}  
  
"Uh... Jim, would you mind if I closed the window."  
  
"Hey, I was about to suggest that." Yumi shut the window and drew the curtains just to be on the safe side. She then  
went to get some clothes on.  
  
Yumi moved stealthly down the hall and out of the dorms. Jim was still struggling to fix the camera so he didn't see  
Yumi make a bee-line for the shead.  
  
"Yumi." It was Odd, who called her over from the shed.  
  
"Odd, I think..." Yumi began.  
  
"Invaders, I know. Jeremie just sent me a text message."  
  
"Huh? That's strange? How come I didn't get one?"  
  
"Ask him yourself." The two went down to the sewers and rode their skateboards through the tunnels to the factory.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aelita materialized right in front of the Obelisk tower. "Perfect drop, Jeremie," she congratulated. "I'm right in  
front of the tower." Two of Xana's Roachsters stood at the entrance. Aelita ran by them and into the maze.  
  
"Hey Aelita, good news," Jeremie said. "I analyzed the path and its fairly easy. The maze goes in a spiral so all  
you have to do is follow the path. But watch out for traps."  
  
"You got it, Jeremie!" Aelita ran through the maze and, to her and Jeremie's surprise, didn't encounter any traps.  
  
Jeremie echoed Aelita's thoughts. "I wonder why there aren't any traps. Aelita, be ready for anything at the  
Obelisk. I'll upload your weapon." As Jeremie prepared the upload, he heard the doors open. "Odd, good, you're  
here. Listen, Aelita's in..." When Jeremie turned around, he realized that Odd wasn't alone. Yumi was with him.  
"Yumi, you shouldn't be here. If Jim finds out you left the campus, you'll be in a whole lot of trouble."  
  
"If we don't stop the Invaders, both Earth and Lyoko will be in a whole lot of trouble," Yumi argued.  
  
"Yumi must really love these suicide runs," Odd cracked.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Jeremie said in response to Odd's comment. "Just get down to the scanners, both of you. Upload:  
Lyoko Wand!"  
  
"As they rode down to the scanner room, Odd said, "Look, Yumi, don't be too upset at Jeremie, he's only looking out  
for you."  
  
"I know," Yumi replied. "But... if Ulrich is really in danger, then I want to do anything possible to help find  
him, even if that means defying a few rules."  
  
"All right," Odd accepted. They arrived at the scanner room.  
  
"Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Odd. Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization!"  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As Aelita entered the Obelisk, she stopped dead in her tracks. Xana was being suspended in the air by energy ropes  
around his arms and legs. Two Blow Fish were circling him.  
  
"Xana!" Aelita gasped. The Blow Fish saw her and dove towards her. Aelita set up a barrier and made the Blow Fish  
self-destruct before reaching her.  
  
A loud hissing came from above Xana. A large red serpent-like creature with feet slithered down Xana's body to  
Aelita.  
  
Jeremie's pre-battle screen showed "Aelita vs. Setor." It's life points were over 500. "Aelita, please be careful.  
It's life points are bigger than yours."  
  
But to Aelita's further surprise, Setor didn't attack Aelita right out. Instead, it slithered back up Xana's body  
and bit into his shoulder." A loud groan came from Xana. Aelita gasped and fell to her knees. "Wh... what's  
happening."  
  
Of course, Jeremie guessed it right off the bat. "The Invaders must know Aelita's connected to Xana! That's why  
they captured him in the first place. With Xana incapacitated, they can attack him all they want and kill Aelita in  
the process!" Setor continued to bite into Xana, causing both him and Aelita to moan in pain.  
  
"I... I have to... get him... off Xana," Aelita gasped. She placed her staff on the ground. "Gravity Bind!" A  
vortex opened up underneath Setor and tried to suck it in but Setor hung on tightly to Xana." Being rapidly drained  
of both her energy and life points, Aelita couldn't hold the Gravity Bind spell and dispersed it. She collapsed to  
her knees. As she looked up, she spotted Xana staring down at her. She felt an emotion from him, much like she did  
when he first upgraded her. But this emotion was... sorrow! Xana fired an energy beam from his chest/head and  
disintegrated Aelita.  
  
Once again, Aelita was ejected from her scanner.  
  
"Aelita!" She could hear Jeremie called out to her.  
  
"I'm all right, Jeremie, I just got devirtualized and..." Aelita dropped to her knees. She felt pain. But that  
didn't make any sense. Any pain felt by a Lyoko attack will disappear when devirtualized. So how could she still  
feel it?  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Yumi and Odd arrived at the entrance to the Obelisk. Jeremie reported Aelita's status to them.  
  
"Wow, these guys aren't playing around," Odd realized. "All right, Jeremie, load us up and we'll go in."  
  
"Upload: Disk Launchers. Upload: Wrist Claws." As Jeremie uploaded their weapons, he wondered what Xana's reasoning  
behind his actions. Was he trying to protect Aelita?  
  
"Hey Jeremie, we're in the Obelisk," Yumi reported. "Xana's in pretty rough shape. Can you re-virtualize Aelita?"  
  
"Sure, but it'll take a while."  
  
"Please hurry."  
  
In Lyoko, Yumi and Odd squared off against Setor who still had his body wrapped around Xana. Yumi fired her disk  
launchers while Odd let off a barrage of Laser Crescents. The attacks together made the Setor drop from Xana.  
  
"Wow, he's a lot bigger up close," Odd commented.  
  
"Keep him busy, guys. I almost reset Aelita's avatar."  
  
"I don't think that'll be a problem," Odd told Jeremie. Then noticed Yumi get in front of him. "Yumi, what..."  
  
"You..." It took Odd a moment to realizing that she was talking to Setor. "Our friend has disappeared. We're  
trying to find him! And nobody, especially not some overgrown water snake, will stop me from finding him!"  
Yumi made a gesture with her hand. Her aura began flaring. For once, Odd was at a lost for words. "Mystic  
Aura... REDUCTION!" Yumi sent her aura into the Setor. The Setor shrunk until it was about Yumi's size.  
  
"Good job, Yumi, but using your aura like that drained you of all your energy plus forty life points."  
  
"That's fine by me," Yumi said firmly. She ran forward and engaged the Setor in hand-to-hand combat. The Setor was  
obviously relying too much on its size to fight. Yumi was a dynamo. She fought so fiercely that for a moment, Odd  
wondered if Xana was controlling her again. For the coup d'grace, Yumi fired her disk launchers which dealt the final  
blow. The energy ropes surrounding Xana disappeared and he fell to his knees. He looked weak. Yumi summoned her  
mystic aura again. "Mystic Aura... Regenerate!" Yumi used all but ten of her life points to restore Xana to normal.  
But he still looked weak.  
  
Aelita then came in. Jeremie had managed to re-virtualize her. The Obelisk had returned to a tower. "You two take  
Xana outside. His monsters should be able to take care of him." Yumi and Odd dragged Xana out of the tower as  
Aelita made her way to the upper level. She placed her hand on the center screen and typed in the code.  
  
L-Y-O-K-O  
  
"Return to the past now!"  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Hey Jeremie, how much farther do we need to go?"  
  
"Not much farther," Jeremie replied. "We just have one more camera to get by." The camera that Jeremie was talking  
about was the one that was aimed at the entrance to the main building. Jeremie saw it short-circuit. "All right,  
there's the signal, let's go!" Jeremie dashed out and kept on running until he was at the entrance.  
  
Aelita started her own dash across the field. Suddenly she tripped and fell to the ground. To make matters worse,  
the camera turned back on.  
  
"Aelita!" Jeremie shouted. "What's Xana doing?" Then a thought occured to him. What if... this wasn't Xana's work.  
Jeremie went into a baseball slide and grabbed Aelita. He tried to get the two of them out of the view of the camera  
but they were too slow. They would be spotted.  
  
They would have been, but the doors opened and someone pulled them inside.  
  
It was Yumi!  
  
"Yumi, what are you doing here?" Aelita asked.  
  
"Xana sent me a message explaining what's going on. I got in through a window."  
  
"D'oh," Jeremie said. "Why didn't I think of that?"  
  
"Come on."  
  
"Yumi, you do realize that if someone catches you here..."  
  
"Ulrich's my friend too, Jeremie, I want to help find him, even if it's just a little." Yumi lead Jeremie and Aelita to  
the security room.  
  
"How do we get past the officers in there?" Aelita asked.  
  
"I don't think we need to," Yumi said. "Look." She pointed to a security guard that was K-Oed on the ground. Jeremie  
and Aelita looked at Yumi. "It wasn't me," she admitted. "So how do we get in?"  
  
"This is where Xana comes in," Jeremie said. He should make his move right about..." The door opened. "Now." Jeremie  
and Aelita entered while Yumi stood guard. The security room had one wall covered with monitors and control panels.  
The opposite one was a shelf filled with marked video tapes. There were two chairs there. One of the monitors was  
flashing the Lyoko symbol.  
  
"What do we do now?" Aelita asked.  
  
"As soon as I find the right tapes," Jeremie said studying the shelves. He threw a CD-ROM case to Aelita. "Get ready  
to download to this." Aelita set up the downlink. Jeremie took seven video tapes. "These video tapes contain all the  
film recorded from the day Ulrich vanished." Aelita, begin downloading them onto CD-ROM.  
  
"You got it, Jeremie." Aelita moved her fingers over the controls. Slowly, a meter bar appeared. It became blue from  
the left side to the right. Aelita repeated the process several more times. "There, done."  
  
"Hey, what's going on here?" It was a security guard.  
  
"I thought he was knocked out," Aelita whispered.  
  
"There must've been two of them," Jeremie whispered back.  
  
"What are you two kids doing here?" With a loud battle cry, Yumi leaped into the air and slammed her foot into the   
back of the security guard's head. The guard fell over.  
  
"Sorry about that," Yumi apologized. "He must've been coming from a different direction. Don't worry, he'll be all right.  
I doubt he'll remember anything from tonight."  
  
"Jeremie, it's all done," Aelita reported.  
  
"Good, let's go."  
  
"Hey Jeremie, do you really think this will help us find Ulrich?" Yumi asked.  
  
"Almost positive, Yumi."  
  
{Ulrich, please be all right,} Yumi prayed. {I almost lost you a first time, I don't want to lose you again.}  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
He had a massive headache, like someone slammed his head with a baseball bat. He tried to gather his senses but it was  
hard. He knew who he was and what he had done in the past, but it was hard to figure out where he was and why he was  
on the ground.  
  
Slowly, his eyes opened. He was in a large dark room. Tin roofs, concreate walls, tons of boxes, must be a warehouse.  
  
"Hey, he's awake," he heard a voice say. He stood up and looked around, realizing he wasn't alone. There were two men  
and a woman in the room with him. All of them had guns.  
  
"What happened?" He whispered. "Where am I?" They smirked at him.  
  
To Be Continued.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next time, the mystery deepens as the gang race against time to find Ulrich. But is it already too late? 


	10. Sins of the Father Pt 2

Code: Lyoko  
  
Sins of the Father (Pt. 2)  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Review Response:  
  
Midnight Insanity: Well, Yumi will be kicking bad guy butt, but it won't be the bad guys you think it is.  
  
Summer Wings: Yes, there is a reason I titled it "Sins of the Father" and you're about to find out why I titled  
it that.  
  
Possessed Angel (& Others): There's something you should know about me: I do not like bloody deaths (yes, I know  
that those are the only deaths out there). I don't like tragedies, I'm only a little fan of angst stories. So  
don't worry about Ulrich. Everything I write happens for a reason.  
  
Chibi-Suiko: I apologize too. I wasn't aware of how you intended that to be. Thank you.  
  
Abstract: As Jeremie and Aelita dig even deeper into the mystery of Ulrich's disappearance, Ulrich finds himself  
the target of a trigger-happy thug who has no qualms about shooting people that make him upset.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Previously on Code: Lyoko, while celebrating the completion of the fourth scanner, Ulrich receives a frantic phone  
call from his father ordering him to return to the dorms. Ulrich left without telling anybody, even Yumi, about it.  
When Ulrich hadn't been seen for two days, the team sets out to find him. Their investigation is stalled even  
further as Yumi becomes a suspect because of what she did to Ulrich while under Xana's control. Yumi and Odd rescued  
Xana from the Invaders and then Jeremie and Aelita snuck into the school's security center to obtain the tapes they  
need to discover what really happened to Ulrich.  
  
But time is rapidly running out for Ulrich unless the others can get to him in time.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich looked around at his surroundings. He was in a warehouse in who-knows-where being surrounded by three guards.  
Not to mention his brain felt like someone hit him with a Bacchi Ball. Who were these guys? Where was he? What  
did they want? And why does his mouth feel like he swallowed the Sahara Desert?  
  
"Where am I? Who are you?" Ulrich asked backing up against the wall.  
  
"Take it easy there, mate," one of the guards said with an Australian accent. "You're safe... for now."  
  
"You don't need to know our names," a dark-skinned woman assured him. "At any rate, soon all this will be behind   
us."  
  
The third guard called to someone outside. "Hey Boss, he's awake."  
  
"Is that so?" A man's voice came. A side door opened and a short, pudgy, balding man in an expensive-looking  
trench coat walked in. "So this is the boy?"  
  
"You bet, Boss," the third guard confirmed. "No doubt about it." Pudgy Man went up to Ulrich and turned his head.  
"Yup, he's the one all right. You're the spitting image of your father."  
  
"My father? What does he have to do with this?"  
  
"All in good time, lad, all in good time. In the mean time, why don't you make yourself at home, we'll all be here  
for a while." He tossed a canteen to Ulrich which the boy drunk greedily. "Oh yes, no doubt about it, you are your  
father's son." That tone sounded almost sarcastic. Ulrich started to reach for his cell phone when he realized he  
no longer had it.  
  
{I should've known it wouldn't be that easy,} Ulrich thought. {I just wish there was a way I could contact someone.  
Yumi, Jeremie, Odd, Aelita, heck, even Xana if it meant letting someone outside this building know where I was.}  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jeremie and Aelita rode their scooters through the tunnels, coming to a stop at the manhole that lead to the  
factory. Jeremie had to wait a full day until the hype from the break-in at the security center died down. Yumi  
had been right in saying that the guard she knocked out couldn't remember anything about who attacked him or if  
there was anyone in the security center that night. And his partner said that he was knocked out by a male, although  
he couldn't make out any features (Jeremie still wondered who also had a grudge against security guards).  
Fortunately, they hid the CD-ROM at the factory so there was no chance anyone besides them would see it. Once they  
arrived at the factory, they rode down to the lab.  
  
"I put each camera's footidge into a separate movie," Aelita explained. "To make things more easier."  
  
"That's good, now we need to look over each of them and see if Ulrich's on any of them." Jeremie took off his  
glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Looks like we'll be here a while."  
  
"Maybe not," Aelita said. "We know that Ulrich was leaving the factory so all we need to do is look at the footige  
from the cameras guarding those exits."  
  
"Good idea, Aelita!" Jeremie congratulated causing Aelita to blush a little. The two entered the lab. Aelita sat  
at the main terminal while Jeremie set up his laptop on the floor projector that normally displays Lyoko. "Aelita,  
you monitor the camera guarding the sewer entrance, I'll take the shed." The two began their tasks. After what  
felt like hours (it actually had only been forty-five minutes), Jeremie's eyes were beginning to droop.  
  
"Jeremie, I think I found something!" Aelita called waking Jeremie up. He leaned over Aelita's shoulder to see  
that she froze the picture at the manhole being lifted.  
  
"Aelita, you might be right. Play it." Aelita hit the play button. The two watched as the manhole cover was lifted  
and Ulrich climbed out. "It's Ulrich!" The two continued to watch as Ulrich replaced the manhole cover and looked  
around. He then took a step back in what looked like surprise. Someone wearing a trenchcoat walked up to him.  
His or her back was to the camera. There seemed to be a brief conversation between the mysterious person and Ulrich.  
Suddenly someone else, this one clearly a woman, snuck up behind him with a metal bar.  
  
"Ulrich, look out!" Aelita cried forgetting that it already happened. The woman smashed a stick (or maybe it was a  
bar, since the picture was in black and white, it was hard to tell the difference) against the back of Ulrich's head.  
Aelita and Jeremie gasped as Ulrich fell over. The woman picked up Ulrich, draped him over her shoulder and she and  
her companion left. "Oh no, I hope he's all right."  
  
"So do I, Aelita, so do I. Back up to the beginning, I want to see the time span." Jeremie looked at the time bar  
in the lower-right hand corner. "Yeah, that's pretty much right after he left the factory."  
  
"So what do we do now?" Aelita asked.  
  
"Let's see if we can find any clues as to who the kidnappers are." Jeremie and Aelita watched the scene again and  
again. But they still had no clues. Jeremie was about to give up when he suddenly thought of something.  
"Aelita... run that scene one more time." Aelita complied. "Stop!" Aelita hit the pause button. Jeremie leaned  
over and began typing commands. The movie had froze just after the woman struck Ulrich. As she lowered her blunt  
instrument, Jeremie zoomed in on her shoulder. There was some sort of logo on it.  
  
"I don't recognize that symbol," Aelita said.  
  
"I don't either," Jeremie agreed. "But right now, it's our only clue."  
  
"And I think I know someone who can help us," Aelita commented.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich's head still hurt. Fortunately, it didn't look like he was bleeding. He looked around for some sign of  
where he exactly was.  
  
"Where am I?" He asked the Aussie.  
  
"Don't ya' watch movies, mate? You're in a warehouse, where the bad guys always take their captive."  
  
"I wish it was the factory," Ulrich muttered. "Okay, what warehouse am I in?"  
  
"That knowledge is not your concern," the woman said.  
  
"Can you at least tell me what you have planned for me?" Ulrich's grilling wasn't doing much to help find out  
where he was or who they were, but maybe he could at least find out why he was taken.  
  
"Just shut up, kid," the third person snapped. He patted his gun. "Unless you WANT to start eating through a hole  
in your stomach."  
  
"Marrin, that's enough," the woman said. "We need him alive. Once we get what we want, then we'll have no need  
for the boy."  
  
{Okay, the other two are too intelligent, but maybe I can use this Marrin guy to find out where I am and what they  
want with me.}  
  
"If you want something, maybe I can help you."  
  
"I doubt it," the Aussie said. "What we're getting from our boss is much more than you could provide."  
  
"And what are you getting from your boss?"  
  
"I thought I said to shut your trap, kid!" Marrin shouted.  
  
"Marrin, please calm down," the woman said evenly. "I believe there is no harm in telling him this." She turned  
towards Ulrich and smirked. "The answer is simple, boy, we're getting money, lots of money."  
  
"Aye, that's right," the Aussie confirmed. "That's why I said it's much more than you could provide."  
  
{Okay, so they're getting money for doing this,} Ulrich thought. {They must be getting it from their boss, but  
where's their boss getting it? Even if he does look rich, I doubt that he could pay the fee for these guys to  
kidnap a kid. Ransom! I bet they're going to ransome my Dad! But... why him? I mean he's well-to-do but he's  
not a millionaire.} Ulrich looked around for something he could use as a weapon to combat these three, but nothing.  
They were holding all the cards.  
  
"Ya' look tired, mate," the Aussie observed. "You should rest."  
  
"I've been resting for three days, thank you very much," Ulrich said acidly.  
  
"You're really treading on thin ice, Ulrich!" Marrin shouted reaching for his gun.  
  
"So how do you know my name?" Ulrich asked. "I didn't tell you."  
  
"Why you..." Marrin drew his gun but before he could bring it to aim, the woman stopped him.  
  
"Marrin, that's enough!" She scolded.  
  
"But Leena, this kid's asking for it."  
  
"Marrin, don't make me upset..." Marrin sighed and put away his gun.  
  
"I'd be wise to stay away from him, kid," the Aussie advised. "He's got an itchy trigger finger, that he does."  
  
Ulrich sighed and sat back down.  
  
The Aussie's phone rang. After listening at the other end, he told Leena, "The boss wants to see us."  
  
Leena nodded and told Marrin, "Marrin, try to control your temper. We won't get anything if he's dead. At any  
rate, we might be dead if he gets killed."  
  
"All right, all right, Leena, I understand."  
  
"Good. Let's go, Terry." Terry and Leena left the room. Ulrich leaned back and looked at Marrin. He definitely  
seemed high-strung.  
  
"You can relax, you know," Ulrich said. "I couldn't try anything even if I wanted to."  
  
"You're not in any position to suggest things to me, twerp," Marrin said evily.  
  
"Suit yourself." Ulrich closed his eyes and pretended to nap.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Xana's cruising through cyberspace right now looking for anything that resembles the symbol we found," Jeremie told   
Aelita in his room.  
  
Aelita nodded. "He would definitely be able to find things a lot quicker than you... I mean us humans can."  
Aelita was still having some difficulty accepting the fact that she was as human as Jeremie. It seemed almost  
unreal. "At any rate, we should wait until he comes back with something."  
  
"Hey Aelita, what do you think this means for our situation in Lyoko?"  
  
"Huh? I don't understand, Jeremie."  
  
"Well... Ulrich was the first of us to undergo Xana's upgrades. And from the battles I've seen him fight in, he's  
definitely the strongest of all of you. You saw what happened at the tower. You got ejected from Lyoko and Yumi  
and Odd came close to doing the same thing. Perhaps if Ulrich was here, we wouldn't have had so hard a time   
freeing Xana and defeating that giant snake monster."  
  
"Don't forget, Jeremie, with Xana captured, I was weakened too. Even if Ulrich was here, I don't know if that  
would change anything. Anyway, we shouldn't worry about what happened in the past, we should just concentrate on  
the present, which means finding Ulrich."  
  
"Hey guys!" Odd called running into Jeremie's room. "Have you taken a look outside lately?" Jeremie and Aelita's  
faces had questions on them. Odd rolled his eyes. "Right, forgot who I was talking to. Well, Sissi formed her  
own Anti-Yumi Campaign."  
  
"You're kidding!" Jeremie gasped. Odd passed them a piece of paper. It had Yumi's face with a red circle-slash  
through it. The paper basically explained how Yumi had a hand in Ulrich's disappearance and calls the students to  
protest for the school's administration to bring her in for questioning. It gave pretty convincing evidence  
including Jim's testimony that he saw Yumi with an unconscious Ulrich. "Whoa, I guess you're not."  
  
"She works fast," Odd commented. "Remember how she organized that rally after we got our cell phones taken away?"  
  
"I don't understand why humans feel the need to protest every little thing," Aelita said.  
  
"It's not most humans, just Sissi," Jeremie cracked.  
  
"That's nothing. Look outside." The three went to the window and looked out to see Sissi with a small crowd of  
students all holding signs with Yumi's face with a red circle and a slash on it.  
  
"Oh geez. Come on, guys, we have to stop it before it gets out of hand!" Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd ran outside.  
"Sissi, what the heck are you doing?"  
  
Sissi gave them a snide glare. "Well, if it ain't the traitors."  
  
"Traitors?" Odd echoed.  
  
"Yeah, conspiring with the kidnapper."  
  
"But Yumi didn't kidnapp Ulrich!" Aelita protested. "I was with her the whole time!"  
  
"So you admit you're an accomplice?" Aelita gasped.  
  
"Look," Jeremie snapped. "Instead of complaining about it, why don't you find some evidence that Yumi is  
guilty!"  
  
"Yeah! Let's go!" And the crowd began to move away.  
  
"Jeremie, why did you do that?" Odd asked.  
  
"I'm sorry, guys, I just got so upset. I wasn't thinking."  
  
"I thought I heard a noise," the principal said as he came out. "Was there a crowd out here earlier?"  
  
"Sir, your daughter's heading a campaign to blame Yumi for the kidnapping of Ulrich!" Aelita said.  
  
The principal sighed. "I was afraid of this."  
  
"Sir, you have to believe us, Yumi's innocent!" Jeremie argued.  
  
"I believe it, Jeremie, trust me, I believe it. But the evidence doesn't look good for her."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well... when I interviewed Yumi, she said that she was the last one to see Ulrich. That really doesn't help  
her case. I'm afraid that if Ulrich isn't found by tomorrow, the police will have to place her under arrest.  
I'm sorry, guys, I know how much you like Yumi, but there isn't anything I can do."  
  
"Where is Yumi now?" Odd asked.  
  
"I had to suspend her from school and send her home. Good thing she's a day student otherwise she would  
already be in a juvenile detention center." The three turned and ran off.  
  
"This isn't good," Jeremie said. "Now we're working against the clock. It's all up to Xana now."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
When Ulrich opened his eyes, he noticed that Marron had not moved from his place. He didn't have a watch so he  
didn't know how long he had been asleep. Actually, he hadn't meant to be sleeping at all, but he still must have a  
small concussion from where he was hit in the head. The ball of Marron's foot was leaning up against the wall,  
making his leg twitch rapidly.  
  
"You still here?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"You're a real smart-alec for someone who's a prisoner," Marron commented.  
  
Ulrich decided to play a little game with him. Maybe he could gleen some information in the process. He leaned  
back and smiled at the thug. "I'll have you know that I'm an important person around some parts."  
  
Marron smirked for the first time since Ulrich first regained consciousness. "That's what we're counting on, kid,  
that your pops thinks you're important enough to give in to our demands." So they were after him because of his  
father. That explains it somewhat.  
  
Ulrich also smirked. "Actually, I'm really the hero of a virtual world and must use a super computer to fight  
computer viruses and monsterous invaders."  
  
Marron laughed. "Ha! Yeah, right. Next thing you'll be telling me is that you can make girls pop out of  
computers."  
  
"Well, not me, but a friend of mine can," Ulrich said enjoying the joke.  
  
The scowl returned. "Look, punk, this is a fun game, but don't forget you're a prisoner here. And I've got  
enough rounds to make five of you if you know what I mean. So just sit down and shut up."  
  
"I'm not worried," Ulrich lied. "I'm sure my friends are already on their way to rescue me."  
  
Marron's eyebrow twitched. "I doubt it, we left no evidence. We even threw away that cell phone of yours."  
  
"You know, they're friends with a real-life sentient computer virus," Ulrich said conversely. "And you know  
that super computer I was talking about? Well I'm sure that they can use it to locate you guys easily. So  
you see, I'm not worried at all."  
  
"You stupid punk!" Marron reached for his gun. "The only way you're going free is if we let you go, and  
don't think that'll happen any time soon."  
  
"I doubt it, you should see what my friends can do. One of them can create stuff out of nothing, another has  
claws that make Wolverine's look childish and the third can do almost anything with her energy. Plus don't  
forget that sentient computer virus I mentioned."  
  
Marron screamed in anger and pulled his gun out. He ran up to Ulrich and aimed it at his gun. "You're a  
selfish little monster, just like your old man! Thanks to him, I lost everything!"  
  
{Jackpot,} Ulrich thought. "Well, look, when I get out of here, I'll convince my Dad to give you anything  
you want. And he won't even press charges."  
  
"The only way you're getting out of here is in a body bag."  
  
"Your boss said you wanted me alive," Ulrich reminded him.  
  
"I'll just tell them that you tried to grab my gun and it went off. No amount of money is worth this much  
lip from a rat half my age!"  
  
Ulrich started to panic. He realized that he pushed him a little too far and now he was going to pay for it!  
  
"You're dead!" Marron anounced.  
  
"Yumi, I'm sorry," he muttered.  
  
The trigger was pulled.  
  
A shot rang out.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
["I'll see you guys later."]  
  
["Don't worry about it."]  
  
["I'll see you later, Yumi."]  
  
["See you later, Yumi."]  
  
["Later, Yumi."]  
  
Yumi gasped and shot up from her bed. She had a bad feeling. Something bad must've happened to Ulrich. Her  
feeling came from a dream, or more like a nightmare, she had. She saw Ulrich, just as he was when she last saw him.  
He turned, gave her one of his smiles, and walked into a bright light. And no matter how fast Yumi ran, she could  
never catch up with him.  
  
{Ulrich, I hope you're all right,} she thought. {I couldn't stand living with myself if something ever happened  
to you. Please, come back to me.} Yumi remembered using those same words when Xana encased Ulrich in a crystalline  
structure during his upgrade. At the time, Yumi thought Xana was putting Ulrich away from good, but as it turned  
out, he was helping Ulrich get stronger, strong enough to battle the Invaders.  
  
Yumi got up and went into the bathroom. She splashed some water on her face. As she was drying, she heard her  
mother say, "Oh, Yumi, you have a visitor."  
  
"Who is it?" Yumi asked weary.  
  
"He didn't say. He outside on the front porch." After Yumi spent the night in Aelita's room, the principal  
agreed to release her into the custody of her parents providing that they never let her go out alone without  
accompaniment. Since then, she had pretty much stayed in her room.  
  
Yumi went downstairs and found Ulrich's father, Omero, standing there.  
  
"Um... excuse me, Ms. Yumi, but I would just like to apologize for my behavior a few days ago. I was worried about  
my son but that's no excuse to do what I did to you."  
  
Yumi wasn't really expecting this. She was expecting another interrogation, not an apology. She joineed him outside.  
The police officer who was undercover as a phone worker eyed them but a signal from Omero told her it was all right.  
"Um... it's all right,sir. And you being worried about your son is understandable. The truth is... I'm... worried   
about him too."  
  
"I'm not surprised," Omero said casually which gave Yumi a shock. "Whenever Ulrich writes home, he always has  
good things to say about you. In fact, I owe you an explanation as to why Ulrich left that day. You see... I was  
the one who called him."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Maybe I better back up and explain from the very beginning."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
{So I'm really dead,} Ulrich thought. {Dad always told me that my mouth would get me in trouble someday. Stupid me  
for not listening. Man, just look at me, my heart's still beating rapidly from... hold the phone, I can still feel my   
heart beating. Dead people aren't suppose to have heartbeats. I'm breathing too! Dead people aren't suppose to be  
breathing. So if I still have a heartbeat and still breathing, then that would mean...}  
  
Ulrich slowly opened his eyes and looked down at him. Nothing, no blood, no organ splatter, not even a hole in his  
shirt. The only evidence that a shot had even been fired was the smoking gun barrel and a smoking hole in the floor.  
Marrin's gun arm was being restrained by Leena. Terry and the Boss were also with them.  
  
"I knew it was a mistake leaving those two alone," the Boss was saying.  
  
"But Boss!" Marrin protested. "He was giving me lip and..."  
  
"Marrin, I don't want to hear of it. Terry, Leena, please take Marrin into the next room. I'll deal with the boy."  
  
"Boss!" But Marrin's two companions were already dragging him away.  
  
"Please excuse Marrin. His anger's mis-placed, but justified." Behind the Boss, Ulrich saw a familiar black smoke  
rising out of the outlet near the door. A slight gesture from Ulrich (not picked up by the Boss) told Xana not to  
do anything right now. The smoke retracted back into the outlet.  
  
Ulrich was right, his friends already knew where he was. Now all he had to do was stall until someone could get to  
him in time. "I want to know why I'm here," he requested.  
  
"You're very demanding, just like your father. Very well then." The Boss pulled up a chair and sat down. "As  
you've probably already figured out, your father's the reason why we kidnapped you, you see..."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Jeremie? Jeremie!" Jeremie opened his eyes and his body jumped from Aelita's call. Jeremie looked around to  
refresh himself why he was here. He was in Aelita's room waiting for Xana to return from his search. "Oh, sorry,  
Aelita, I must've dozed off."  
  
"You've been staring at the screen for almost two hours now," Aelita commented. "Maybe you should get some sleep."  
  
"No, no, I'm fine," Jeremie insisted.  
  
Aelita was worried about her friend. "Jeremie, you've gotten little, if any, sleep since Ulrich first went missing.  
I'm worried about you."  
  
Jeremie gave her a weary smile. "Hey, remember when I stayed up all those late nights trying to work on your  
materialization program?"  
  
"Still, you're not going to help Ulrich or Yumi if you're half-dead! Look, I can set up the same sleeping bag that  
Yumi used..." Jeremie refused the offer. Aelita laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jeremie, I'm really worried about  
you," Aelita repeated.  
  
Jeremie turned around and embraced Aelita. "Thanks, Aelita."  
  
Aelita didn't know what to do so she just returned it. As she did, she caught a glimpse of the computer screen.  
"Jeremie, look!" Jeremie turned and saw the Lyoko symbol blinking mutely in the upper-right corner of the screen.  
  
"Xana's back!" Jeremie exclaimed. "And it looks like he has something!" He and Aelita read Xana's findings.  
"Apparently, the symbol is that of Core-Tech Enterprises, a software company that went out of business almost  
twelve years ago..."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich was getting the same story, but a different version. "It was bought out by Apex Industries, a much larger  
company. The leader of this takeover was none other than your father..."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Yumi was also getting the story from Omero. "My employers asked me to head a buy-out of Core-Tech Enterprises.  
They said that doing so would help us send our company international. Something like that was just too tempting  
to pass out plus they said it would mean a big promotion for me. So I did."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"But there was just one problem. A majority of Core-Tech's staff and employees were laid off including their CEO,  
Ernie Merriman."  
  
"And that's you, isn't it?" Ulrich asked. "You're Mister Merriman."  
  
"Guilty as charged. My three associates whom you've already met all had their jobs taken away from them because  
of the takeover."  
  
"So that's what Marrin meant when he said that my father took everything away from him." Merriman nodded.  
"So why did you choose to do this instead of trying to buy back the company?" Ulrich asked.  
  
"I tried that," Merriman explained.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Jeremie, if Core-Tech was that upset, then why didn't they try to stop the takeover?" Aelita asked.  
  
"My guess is that they did, but the price was just too high," Jeremie answered.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"The price they were offering was too low," Omero said. "And the price we were asking for was too high.  
There couldn't be a compromise."  
  
"So maybe Ulrich was kidnapped by those Core-Tech guys in retaliation for the takeover," Yumi concluded.  
  
Omero nodded. "But what I can't understand is why wait until now to make their move?"  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Have you ever heard of the expression 'the sins of the father are often reflected in the son'?"  
  
"I've heard the first part but not the second part," Ulrich replied.  
  
"Well, we wouldn't be satisfied until we took care of the man who took it away from us in the first place.  
But it was just too hard to find a time and place to capture him. So..."  
  
"You settled for me instead," Ulrich finished. "You're making my Dad suffer by kidnapping me so he could suffer  
the same anguish as you all have, maybe even more. An eye for an eye."  
  
Ernie nodded again and got up from his chair.  
  
"As long as your father complies with our demands, you will not be harmed," Merriman assured Ulrich. "And don't  
worry, you won't be here for very longer. I'm about to make the ransom call to your father. And you're going to  
help." Ernie knocked on the door and Terry walked in. "Terry, tie the boy up and then bring him in."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Xana's written more," Jeremie noticed. "He knows where Ulrich is!"  
  
"Where?" Aelita asked.  
  
"He says that he's in an abandoned Core-Tech warehouse where they stored surplus equipment and merchandise. He has  
the address and everything!"  
  
"Jeremie, let's go rescue him! I don't think anyone would believe us if we told them."  
  
"Right, Aelita. I'll print out a map to it and..."  
  
The Lyoko symbol flashed again but this time there was a siren accompanying it. "Oh no, not now," Jeremie whined.  
But it was true, the Invaders have been spotted in Lyoko.  
  
"Jeremie, you have to call Yumi and Odd."  
  
"But Ulrich's still missing. If we don't find him soon, Yumi could be in serious trouble."  
  
"So what do we do?"  
  
"Aelita, call Yumi and Odd. We'll have to send them into Lyoko alone."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You and I are going to rescue Ulrich!"  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Do the police know about this?" Yumi asked.  
  
Omero nodded. "They do, but without evidence, there's no way to connect the kidnapping with the remaining Core-Tech  
employees.."  
  
Yumi's cell phone rang. "Hello? Aelita, what's wrong?... I see... you know I can't, right now... yes, I know  
it's an emergency but... are you sure... I know, but I can't be there..."  
  
Omero took the cell phone from her and spoke into it. "She'll be there," he said and disconnected the call.  
  
"Huh? Why did you do that?"  
  
"Stay right there." Omero ran to talk to the police officer. The police officer spoke into his communicator.  
After about a minute, he nodded his head and Omero returned to Yumi. "Come on."  
  
"But what about..."  
  
"I just told them that I'm taking you to show me around places where Ulrich might hang out. I said I would take  
full responsibility if something were to happen to you."  
  
"Thank you, sir," Yumi said. The two ran to Omero's car and Yumi gave directions to the factory. "Sir, I do have  
one question, why are you doing this for me?"  
  
"Because I know it has to do with this little Lyoko club of yours." Yumi gasped. "I stole a peak at Ulrich's  
journal. He mentions this Lyoko place a lot even though he doesn't go into much detail. All I do know is that  
it's really important to you kids."  
  
"Does Ulrich know you know?"  
  
Omero shook his head. "No. Because we all have our little skeletons in the closet." Omero pulled up to the bridge  
that ran to the island the factory was on. "Here we are."  
  
"Thank you, sir," Yumi said as she got out.  
  
"Yumi," Omero called. "In his journal, Ulrich talks very highly of you. I now know his praises are well-justified."  
Yumi blushed a little and nodded a thanks and ran inside the factory. Omero took off but soon, his own cell phone  
rang. "Omero."  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Ulrich! Where are you, are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, Dad, they haven't hurt me." Omero could tell that Ulrich's lines were scripted. "Dad, the kidnappers  
told me to tell you that they want two million transferred to an overseas account or they'll kill me."  
  
"Okay, I understand, Ulrich. Tell them that they'll have it in the account by tomorrow at the latest."  
  
"Thanks, Dad."  
  
"Ulrich, stay strong, I promise, everything will be all right."  
  
"I'm sure of it, Dad." The line was disconnected.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Leena took the phone away from Ulrich. Ulrich told Merriman, "He says you'll have it by tomorrow at the latest."  
  
"Well done, Ulrich," Merriman congratulated.  
  
"You said that I would be freed once you get the money," Ulrich reminded him.  
  
"That's right, I did," Merriman admitted. "And you will be. Once the money is deposited into our account, you can  
leave whenever you want. You would no longer be a hostige."  
  
Ulrich took a sigh of relief until he realized something. If he was no longer a hostige, then he would out-live his  
usefulness to them which means that they wouldn't care what happened to him, even if he was killed by one of them.  
Ulrich cast a side-glance at Marrin. Apparently he was thinking the same thing because he smiled evily at him.  
  
{I better think of something soon,} Ulrich thought. {Because as soon as they get their money, I'll really be dead.}  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The last three people you would expect team-up to save Ulrich from Merriman as two of the Lyoko warriors find  
themselves against a seemingly unstoppable foe. All this plus an action by Aelita you would not believe in in the  
next chapter. 


	11. Sins of the Father Pt 3

Code: Lyoko  
  
Sins of the Father (Pt. 3)  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Phew. To tell you the truth, guys, turning out all these chapters is sending my mind towards a creativity meltdown!  
In short, I'm coming down with a small case of writer's block so I think I'm going to have to take a small hiatus from  
this for a while. Don't worry, I'll definitely continue this. Just give me some time to recharge the creative side  
of my brain and I'll be back with more chapters.  
  
Review Response:  
  
Specter Von Baren: Not as much as it would be if I said they were actual brother and sister. This will probably be  
addressed in the future.  
  
firehair (in your Chapter 2 review): The end of this chapter should clear something up.  
  
JQLN (in response to what you said in chapter 2 of "Tripped"): Don't worry, nobody's perfect.  
  
Abstract: The most unlikely team in history undertake a dangerous mission to save Ulrich. Will they get to him in   
time?  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Previously on Code: Lyoko, while investigating Ulrich's disappearance, Jeremie and Aelita discovered who and why he  
might've been taken. The culprit was the head of Core-Tech, a company that went out of business when it was  
bought out by the company that Ulrich's father works for. Xana located Ulrich in a warehouse and reported it to  
Jeremie and Aelita but just then, the Invaders had been spotted. How can Team Lyoko conquer two opponents at once?  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Odd was playing with Kiwi when his cell phone went off. It was flashing the Lyoko symbol.  
  
"Uh-oh, duty calls. Stay there, Kiwi, I'll be right back." Odd left the dorms and ran into the shed. He ran down  
the steps and into the sewers. Taking his skateboard, he rode to the ladder that lead up to the factory. He swung  
down the rope and into the elevator. When the vault doors parted, he joined Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremie inside.  
  
"Here's the deal, guys," Jeremie said. "Xana spotted the Invaders in the mountain region. They've already taken over  
a tower and transformed it into an Obelisk."  
  
"But what about Ulrich?" Yumi asked. "He's still missing."  
  
"Don't worry, Yumi, we already know where he is."  
  
"You do? Where?" Yumi grabbed Jeremie by the shoulders and shook him. "Jeremie, where is Ulrich?"  
  
"Yumi, we have to concentrate on Lyoko. I know you're worried about Ulrich. We all are, even Sissi for crying out  
loud. But if the Invaders launch an attack on Earth, Ulrich as well as hundreds of others could be hurt. We need  
to set our priorities here. Please, Yumi, we need you in Lyoko."  
  
"All right. Jeremie, can you promise me something? Please, help Ulrich, no matter what it takes."  
  
"No promise is needed, Yumi, I will!"  
  
"All right, to the scanners," Yumi ordered. Aelita was about to follow her and Odd but Jeremie stopped her.  
  
"Jeremie?"  
  
"I'll explain later. Just stay here for now."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Jeremie typed in the commands. "Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Odd. Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization!"  
  
Yumi and Odd appeared in the mountain region. "Guys, the Obelisk is located twenty meters in front of you."  
  
"Let's go, Yumi." The two ran off but stopped short when a cliff loomed overhead. "Uh... Jeremie, bad news."  
  
"Let me guess, a sixty foot drop?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Not a problem. Upload: Grappling Claw!" The item that saved Yumi from falling to her doom earlier appeared around  
Odd's arm. The two began climbing down.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Jeremie, I don't understand," Aelita said. "Why am I not taking the plunge with them?"  
  
"Because I need your help, Aelita," Jeremie said taking off his earpiece. "We're going to rescue Ulrich!"  
  
"Just the two of us?"  
  
Jeremie nodded. "We can't go to anybody without revealing what we did and what we can do. We'll have to rescue  
him on our own."  
  
"So what do we do once we find him?" Aelita asked as the two got in the elevator.  
  
"Um... to tell you the truth, I'm not really sure, I'm making this up as I go along."  
  
"I think some of Ulrich's been rubbing off on you," Aelita said with a smile.  
  
The two returned to school. "I used the super computer to print out a map to the warehouse that Xana found Ulrich  
in."  
  
"Then let's go," Aelita said. "I just hope we can get to him in time."  
  
"Just hold it right there!"  
  
"Uh-oh," Jeremie and Aelita said at the same time. Sure enough, Jim was standing in front of them, blocking their  
way out.  
  
"Where do you two think you're going?"  
  
Jeremie was about to use a lie when Aelita said firmly, "We're going to rescue Ulrich!"  
  
"What? You know where Ulrich is?"  
  
"Jeremie does."  
  
"And just how does Jeremie know?" Jim gave Jeremie a suspicious glance.   
  
Aelita laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jeremie can find out anything," Aelita vouched. "He's a genius!"  
Jeremie blushed.  
  
"Well you two are coming with me, we're going to the principal and you can tell him your story." Jim grabbed  
Jeremie by the wrist.  
  
Jeremie decided that since Aelita made a stand, it was time for him to do it as well. "No!" Jim looked at him  
surprised. Obviously, Jeremie was the last person he expected a note of defiance from. Jeremie pulled his hand  
away. "There's no time, Jim! Every second we waste brings Ulrich closer and closer to death! We're the only   
ones who can save him! Now you're going to let us go rescue him whether you like it or not."  
  
Jim put his hands on his hips. "Sorry, Jeremie, but I can't let you two go rescue him..." Jeremie and Aelita  
lowered their heads. Jim suddenly put on a smile. "At least not without adult supervision." Jeremie and Aelita  
smiled at him.  
  
"Thank you, Jim," Aelita said.  
  
"Follow me." Jim lead them to a wooden shed that looked more like a garage. "If you're right and time is of the  
essence, then we need to get to where Ulrich is fast!" Jim pulled a cover off revealing a WWII era motorcycle  
complete with sidecar. Jim threw the kids some helmets then donned one with goggles. The motorcycle was revved  
up and the three of them took off unaware that somebody was watching them. Watching... and following.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Yumi and Odd finally reached the bottom.  
  
"Phew, I thought we'd never get down," Odd said. Yumi was silent as they walked towards the large black Obelisk in  
the distance. "I mean I haven't seen that big of a line since Herb tried to pick up Aelita." He laughed but received  
nothing in return, just silence. "Yumi, you're worried about Ulrich, we all are. I'm sure Jeremie already has  
a plan to get him back."  
  
"I hate it, Odd, I hate not being able to do anything about it."  
  
"Hey, join the club. But look at all this. We have a computer virus on our side for crying out loud. One way or  
another, I'm sure Ulrich's going to be rescued. Nobody will die today." Odd hoped he sounded more convincing than  
he actually was.  
  
"Uh-oh," Yumi said. "I think we're expected." Standing in between Yumi, Odd, and the Obelisk was a whole batallion  
of Skeletons.  
  
"At least we won't run out of playmates. All right, Jeremie, load us up!" There was no reply. "Hello, Jeremie?  
Some weapons would be nice about now!" Odd looked towards Yumi and shrugged. "Great, as if we didn't have enough  
to worry about."  
  
"We still have our powers," Yumi said beginning to make the sign with her hands.  
  
"Yeah, but don't forget, they use up our energy. And once our energy is gone, it'll tap into our life points and  
then we'll be in deep you-know-what."  
  
{Jeremie, Aelita, please get Ulrich back soon.} "Mystic Aura... ram!" The white mist plowed into the center of  
Skeletons like an oncoming train.  
  
"Laser Crescent!" Odd fired a barrage of energy arcs at them.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As Jim's motorcycle cruised through the streets, Jeremie filled him in on what they discovered (he didn't reveal  
how he found out, just said that it was "an Internet search")  
  
"That makes sense," Jim said when Jeremie finished. "I feared this."  
  
"You mean you knew that Ulrich was going to be captured?" Aelita asked.  
  
"When Ulrich first came to this school, the principal pointed him out to me and said 'Jim, keep an eye on that one.'  
I asked, 'Why, is he a troublemaker?' And the principal replied, 'No, his father wants an eye kept on him because  
he might be captured.' I wondered who would want to capture him. The principal told me that Ulrich's father was a  
very important businessman with many enemies."  
  
"So Ulrich's father sent him to this school to protect him from people like Core-Tech who would want to kidnapp him  
to get at the father," Jeremie analyzed.  
  
"Yup. But now I see that it was no good. They found him anyway."  
  
"I wonder if Ulrich knows," Aelita pondered.  
  
"He knows his father has a lot of enemies, but I doubt that he knows why he was really sent to this boarding school."  
  
"Jim, turn here!" Jeremie instructed. Jim turned into an alleyway. At the far end was a T-shape intersection and  
at the far end of the intersection was a large white building. There were several crates, a large stack of wood and  
a dumpster. The wall of the white building had old, dirty, windows along the side. "That's it, that's the  
warehouse where Xa... I mean where Core-Tech is."  
  
"Then let's bust in there and rescue him!" Aelita said.  
  
"Hold on," Jim said. "Let's make sure that Ulrich is there first. I want to justify breaking and entering. Plus  
the place looks to take up a full square block."  
  
"That window is pretty high up," Jeremie commented. "I don't think even Jim could reach that high."  
  
"But what if I stood on your shoulders and you sat on Jim's shoulders, we might be tall enough to peek in."  
  
"Good idea, Aelita," Jim said. "Let's do it!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Inside, Terry had set up a laptop computer with remote Internet access through a cell phone. Ulrich was leaning  
against a stack of crates. Marrin was keeping a close eye on him. Leena and Merriman were playing cards.  
  
"Terry, has the deposit been made yet?" Merriman asked.  
  
"Not yet, chief," the Aussie replied.  
  
"Your old man better come through or else you won't live to celebrate your next birthday," Marrin threatened.  
  
"He's never let me down before," Ulrich said.  
  
"Hey now, wait a minute, something's happening," Terry announced. Merriman and Leena went over to check it out.  
  
Ulrich spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A pink-haired head sticking up from the other side of the  
windows. Ulrich was surprised but tried not to show it. Aelita placed a finger to her mouth in a gesture of  
silence. Marrin saw where Ulrich was looking and followed the look. However, Aelita quickly ducked her head and  
Marrin saw nobody.  
  
"That's it," Merriman confirmed. "Well, young man, your father apparently came through."  
  
{That was quick,} Ulrich thought. {I wondered where Dad got the money?} "I knew he could. So I guess you  
don't need me any more."  
  
Merriman chuckled and lit a cigar. "Let me tell you something, boy, I admire your courage and tenacity. You  
truly are your father's son and despite everything, I hold no ill feelings against you."  
  
{I don't like where this is going.} "So... am I free to go?"  
  
"I have no need for you any more." Merriman turned to Marrin. "Marrin, if you wish to shoot him, go ahead."  
  
"Oh no!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Well, Aelita, did you see Ulrich?" Jeremie asked with his eyes shut tight. He didn't think Aelita realized that  
by standing on his shoulders, she was giving him a full view of up her skirt.  
  
"Yes, but it looks like they're ready to do something." Jim lowered the two down. "Jim, if we're going to bust in,  
we should do it now."  
  
"Yeah, but how? That place is sealed up tighter than a drum." Jeremie looked around from the dumpster to the planks  
of wood, to the crates. An idea formed in his head.  
  
"I have an idea."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Shoot me? But you said I could go free."  
  
"I said that we have no need for you any more. Which means that if Marrin wants to shoot you, none of us will stop  
him."  
  
Ulrich looked around, but he was still bound so there wasn't anything he could do. He looked around for something  
to use as a defense but all he had were the crates and those were too big to move. "Looks like this is it," he said  
to himself.  
  
"I'm going to put a bullet through you for all the times you mouthed off to me, and twice for your weasel of a  
father!" He drew his gun.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Yumi, we're getting nowhere this way!" Odd said.  
  
"Then why don't we go this way. Stay close to me." The two were at the center of a circle of approaching Skeletons.  
"Mystic Aura... expand!" The mist formed a dome around them and expanded, knocking Skeletons back and into the  
digital void.  
  
"Yumi, look out!" Yumi turned to see several shapeless masses of purple energy flying towards them. "Laser  
Crescent!" The energy monsters actually absorbed Odd's attack. It shot out tendrils which lashed Yumi and Odd.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"All right, everything's set up," Jeremie said looking at the makeshift ramp they made. "Once we get inside,   
Jim will make a distraction while Aelita and I will get Ulrich."  
  
"Don't be too long. Your parents and the principal would never forgive me if I let something bad happened to you."  
  
"Okay. Here we go!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"This is going to be sweet," Marrin said. He took out his gun and cocked the hammer.  
  
"Hey," Terry called. "Anybody besides me hear a buzzing noise?"  
  
"It's probably just a fly," Leena dismissed.  
  
"No, actually, it sounds like a motorcycle."  
  
CRASH  
  
With an explosion of glass, Jim's motorcycle burst through the already crumbling glass window. He landed right in the  
middle of things.  
  
"Hey Ulrich, need a ride?"  
  
"Jim!" Ulrich leaped onto the back of Jim's motorcycle as Jim revved it up and took off. "Thanks, Jim, I owe you."  
  
"Tell you the truth, I wouldn't have found you if it weren't for your friends." Jim gestured to Jeremie and Aelita  
in the sidecar.  
  
"Jeremie, Aelita! Boy, am I glad to see you."  
  
"You've had us all worried, Ulrich," Jeremie said.  
  
"Heads up!" Jim warned. "We got company!" It was Terry and Marrin, each armed. Jim swirved the motorcycle and let  
out a burst of exhaust in their faces. "We need to get out of here."  
  
Aelita looked up and noticed some boxes stacked on top of a catwalk. She suddenly got an idea. She leaped from the  
motorcycle, rolled (like that guy did in the movie that she watched with the others last week) and ran for a metal  
ladder that was built into the wall.  
  
"Aelita!" Jeremie called out.  
  
"Is she crazy?" Jim asked.  
  
Aelita climbed up the ladder and over to the boxes. Right now, Jim was leading them in circles around the interior  
of the large warehouse. Aelita began to pushing the boxes. There was only one problem: the boxes were filled and  
kind of heavy. Aelita tried with all her might but they could only move an inch.  
  
"Someone help me," she said. Suddenly she felt a pair of strong hands on her shoulders, pushing her as she was  
pushing the boxes. The boxes began moving. They dropped just as Jim passed under the catwalk. And crashed right  
in front of the chasing crooks. Aelita looked around to see who helped her but didn't see anybody. She shrugged  
and climbed down.  
  
No sooner had her feet touched the floor then she felt an arm grabbed her. It was the woman, Leena. "Come out of  
hiding and hand the boy over or she dies in his place!" Jim and Ulrich came out but Aelita didn't see Jeremie.  
Had he been captured as well.  
  
"NO!" Jeremie threw himself at Leena's legs. His weight knocked her off-balance allowing Aelita to deliver a  
sharp kick to her knees. The two ran to join Jim and Ulrich.  
  
"Jeremie, thank you!" Aelita embraced him fiercely. "You saved me."  
  
"We saved each other, Aelita."  
  
Jim drove by on his motorcycle. "Hop on!" Jeremie and Aelita climbed into the sidecar and Jim drove for the  
main door.  
  
There was only one problem, the door was closed.  
  
But that problem was solved as the Lyoko symbol flashed on the control operating the heavy door. It began  
rising.  
  
{Xana came to help us!} Aelita thought. {Thank you, Xana.}  
  
"It's rising too slowly," Jim realized. "Everyone duck your heads!" Everyone lowered their heads and the  
motorcycle was able to pass through. Jim got onto a road and began driving in the direction of the school.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ernie Merriman cursed. "Terry, bring the car around!" He scolded himself for not putting up any guards. But  
he would get the boy back and eliminate those other three.  
  
As Ernie climbed into the unmarked sedan, they were unaware that someone was watching them. This someone went up  
to the still active laptop and began downloading its harddrive, all while thinking, {She's a lot braver than I  
remember her. Must have to do with those other kids.}  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"I need to get you three back to school A.S.A.P.," Jim said.  
  
{No, we need Ulrich at the factory,} Jeremie mentally argued. "Jim, wait! Those crooks managed to grab Ulrich at  
school. If we go there now, we would most likely be walking into a trap!"  
  
"So what do you suggest?" Jim asked.  
  
"We need to hide Ulrich somewhere until we can call the police. And I know just the place..."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Odd, my energy's drained!" Yumi cried.  
  
"I know, mine is too!" Odd agreed. His tail told him that something was about to attack him from behind so Odd  
leaped into the air, backflipped and landed behind the Skeleton. He kicked it in the head and actually knocked its  
head off. Its body started swinging its sword wildly. Odd just avoided it until the body went over the edge.  
  
Yumi judo-tossed a Skeleton then screamed as a purple tendril wrapped around her waist. Yumi felt hundreds of volts  
coarse through her body.  
  
"Yumi!" Odd tried to help her but a tendrill wrapped around his waist as well. The purple energy masses threw them  
towards the cliff wall.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jim's motorcycle raced across the bridge that lead to the factory. It came through the entrance and catapulted  
itself to the ground floor. No sooner had they entered, then the metal garage-like door lowered.  
  
"Aelita and I will take Ulrich to a safe place," Jeremie said. "Jim, you call the police." Jeremie tossed Jim his  
cell phone.  
  
"What kind of a safe place?" Jim asked.  
  
"Um... sorry, Jim, can't tell you. If the crooks were to find out, we'd all be in trouble. Trust me, it's for the  
best." And before Jim could argue any further, Jeremie and Aelita took Ulrich into the freight elevator. Jim sighed  
and dialed the number of the police.  
  
"Yumi and Odd need you in Lyoko, Ulrich," Jeremie explained.  
  
"Then let me at that scanner, I'll help them," Ulrich promised. "It's the least I can do after I made everyone worry."  
  
The elevator dropped Jeremie off at the control room. He gave Aelita and Ulrich a thumbs up. "Go get 'em, you guys."  
  
Ulrich returned it. "Don't worry, we will."  
  
As Ulrich and Aelita arrived in the scanner room, Aelita said, "Ulrich, I think you deserve to use the fourth scanner.  
I mean after all you've been through.  
  
"Wow, thanks, Aelita." Aelita took the last available scanner.  
  
"Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Ulrich. Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Ulrich. Virtualization!"  
  
Ulrich and Aelita were dropped off in the same location that Odd and Yumi were dropped off at. {Hang on, Yumi, just  
for a little bit longer.} The two ran along the path until they came to the drop. Explosions could be heard in the  
distance. "Sounds like Yumi and Odd can use our help," Ulrich said.  
  
"Give me a second and I'll upload the grappling claw," Jeremie said.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Jeremie," Aelita said. She dropped to her knees and made a triangle sign with her hands. Her  
mouth opened and let out an angelic tone. The slab of ground they were on broke away and began slowly descending.  
  
"Wow, Aelita, I didn't know you could use your powers without your weapon."  
  
"I've been thinking," Aelita said, her eyes still closed. "That without our weapons, our powers should be at the  
same level as they were before we were upgraded."  
  
"These are some pretty weird upgrades Xana provided us with."  
  
"I'm not complaining."  
  
"Neither am I."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Yumi and Odd struggled to get up. Each of them hurt all over and their energy and life points were so low that they  
couldn't even stand let alone attack.  
  
"What are they waiting for? Why don't they finish us off?" Odd asked.  
  
"They must want to prolong our suffering," Yumi guessed. {Good-bye, Ulrich, I'll see you in one world or the next.}  
  
"HI-YAH!" A black blur came falling out of the sky and knocked a quarter of the Skeletons over the edge, one at a time.  
A slab of ground bowled others over. Ulrich and Aelita landed perfectly in front of Yumi and Odd.  
  
"Hey bone brains," Ulrich called. "If you want to get to them, you're going to have to go through us!"  
  
"Ulrich, Aelita!" Yumi cried.  
  
Ulrich turned and helped Yumi up. "Are you two okay?"  
  
"We're fine now that you're back," Yumi said. Ulrich re-discovered what he should've known all along, that his   
friends, especially Yumi, really cared about him, otherwise they wouldn't have risked life and limb to rescue him.  
  
"Boy, are we glad to see you two," Odd said.  
  
"What, no hi for me?" Jeremie asked.  
  
"Jeremie!" Odd said shocked. "You know, you forgot to upload our weapons."  
  
"I know, sorry about that. Here, will this make up for it? Lifepoint restorer!"  
  
Odd shot up to his feet but was surprised by it. "Hey, I'm all better."  
  
"You two are now at full life points and energy," Jeremie said.  
  
Xana came barreling out of the sky and landed with gymnast-grace and seismic-power.  
  
"Hey, Xana's here too," Odd pointed out. "Looks like the whole team's together again."  
  
"That's right," Ulrich agreed. "So let's kick some Invader butt! Jeremie?"  
  
"Oh yeah, I love this part. Upload: Twin Kitanas! Upload: Disk Launchers! Upload: Wrist Claws! Upload: Lyoko Wand!"  
Their weapons appeared. The two sides stared at each other. Then the battle began.  
  
"Energy Wave!" Ulrich sent a large crescent of energy careening into the Skeletons.  
  
"I've finally figured out the way to defeat these energy beings," Yumi said making her sign. "Mystic Aura... Freeze!"  
They not only froze in place, but they turned into ice versions of themselves. Aelita broke them with her staff.  
  
"Up please," Odd requested of Xana. The computer virus threw Odd into the air. Odd placed his arms out like Superman  
and began spinning. "Drill Claw!" Odd finished them off.  
  
"We did it!" Yumi shouted. Everyone (except Xana, seeing as how he didn't have a mouth) cheered. "Now, let's go for  
the Obelisk!" They all took off towards the Obelisk.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What started out as a kidnapping turned into a dramatic rescue as one junior-high student was saved by two other  
students and a gym coach. The boy was captured by Ernie Merriman, former head of Core-Tech Enterprises almost four  
days ago and was being held pending ransom. Somehow, the two other students and the gym teacher found out where he  
was and performed an eleventh hour rescue. The crooks were apprehended by police near an old factory on the  
waterfront. Three of them are now in custody. The fourth, Leena Niyambo, has been taken to county hospital for knee  
surgery. In what appears to be a related story, a CD-ROM was delivered to the police station. The contents of the  
CD-ROM included a video of the kidnapping in action as well as files that showed that Merriman was embezzling money  
from Apex Industries. As for the person who downloaded it from a laptop found in a Core-Tech warehouse, the delivery  
boy only said that somebody told him to take it to the police station immediately. As for the boy and his three  
heroes, they have escaped with only minor scrapes."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"And so," the principal was saying. "It gives me great honor to present Aelita, Jeremie, and Jim, with these medals  
for heroic achievements in rescuing one of their fellow students from danger." The entire auditorium burst into  
applause. Jeremie, Aelita, and Jim bore their medals proudly, especially Aelita. She never received so much  
attention before.  
  
Ulrich, who was on stage as well (as the "guest of honor") lead the audience in giving the three a standing ovation.  
Yumi and Odd, who were in the front row, shared a knowing glance. The five of them would be the only ones who knew  
the entire truth. Sissi, seated in the middle, grudgingly joined in. Yumi was acquitted of everything and even  
received an apology from the principal. To Sissi, it looked like Yumi and Ulrich were now closer, which meant that  
her chance with him was rapidly slipping away.  
  
At the succeeding reception, Jeremie was filling Aelita and Odd in on some missing details.  
  
"As it turned out, it was Xana who placed the two million into the account. He wanted to distract them while we  
scouted for Ulrich. I don't think he realized what it might've triggered."  
  
"Wow, Xana's just about as clueless as Aelita when it comes to understanding humans," Odd cracked.  
  
"Hey! I'm trying."  
  
"Sorry, Aelita."  
  
Something was tugging at Aelita's mind though. Who could've helped her push the boxes over? She knew that there  
was no way she could've pushed them over by herself. But how come she couldn't see anybody? Aelita decided not  
to tell Jeremie and Odd about it, instead choosing to discuss something else.  
  
"Hey guys," Aelita addressed. "I've... been talking to Xana and... we agreed that in exchange for helping us  
save Ulrich, we... would leave Lyoko online after the Invaders have been defeated." Jeremie and Odd were surprised.  
"I'm sorry for not discussing it with you guys earlier, but... I mean Xana did help in a big way. He found Ulrich  
and even got the door open for us. I... I feel like it's the least we can do."  
  
"Well... I guess it is the least we can do," Odd agreed. "Actually, when we're not running for our lives or fighting  
evil monsters and stuff like that, Lyoko can be a pretty cool place to hang around in."  
  
"Xana is a hard one to figure out," Jeremie commented. "I mean we don't know if he's doing this because he likes us  
or he's just saving his own... uh... hyde."  
  
"Xana's an ally," Aelita said. "I just know it. He may not know how to express it, but... we can count on him. I'm  
sure of it!"  
  
"Well, Aelita, if you think he can be trusted, then I believe he can be trusted."  
  
"Congratulations," Will mumbled as he pass by.  
  
"Oh, thanks, Will," Jeremie said.  
  
"Yes, thank you," Aelita agreed. "But to tell you the truth, we did have a little help... I mean if it wasn't for  
Jim, we probably wouldn't have arrived in time."  
  
Will just nodded and continued along his way.  
  
"That is one strange kid," Jeremie commented. "He acts like he doesn't care about anything at all, but I'm thinking  
that's all it is, an act."  
  
"You know, in some ways, Will kind of reminds me of Ulrich," Aelita commented. "To me, they both seem to not care  
but when everything seems dark, they're your strongest lifeline to rely on."  
  
"Speaking of Ulrich," Jeremie asked looking around. "Where is he? I mean this is his party just as much as it's  
ours."  
  
"Oh, I guess he had enough excitement for one day," Odd said. "I saw him sitting outside."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ulrich took a breath of air and let it out slowly. For the first time in a long while, he could finally relax. He  
looked up as the sun was just preparing its descent for the night.  
  
"Hey," Yumi greeted. "Mind some company?"  
  
"Nope." Ulrich moved down so Yumi could have a seat next to him.  
  
"So it's all over?" She asked.  
  
"Yup. The testimony provided by Jeremie, Jim, Aelita, my father, and myself will be enough to put all of them away  
for a long time."  
  
"That's good." Yumi leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're safe."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Ulrich took his hand and started to reach across the bench. He stopped half-way, then continued until it touched  
her far shoulder. Yumi made no attempt to stop him. In fact, she actually seeemed to take comfort in it, like she  
wanted him to do that.  
  
"Nice sunset," he said nervously.  
  
"Yeah," she agreed. They said and did nothing else until the sun had completely set.  
  
From their hiding place, Jeremie, Odd, and Aelita smiled at each other and nodded, deciding to leave the two in peace.  
After all, after all they've been through, it's the least they could do.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Well guys, that's it for me. If you guys have any suggestions on what I can put in here, please speak up or forever  
hold your peace. In the mean time, I'm on my way to AnimeNext. Try to spot me. I'll probably be the one in glasses  
blowing into wads of kleenex (don't ask). 


	12. The Phantom Player

A/N: I needed to switch to MS Word because upgrades screwed up the notepad program I originally used.

Code: Lyoko

The Phantom Player

Abstract: A new presence makes itself known in Lyoko and it's up to the team to figure it out.

* * *

In the middle of the night, a figure snuck into the factory that housed the supercomputer and the scanners. It climbed down the ropes and faced the freight elevator. 

_If I know them, they placed a security code on the access door. Good thing I know another way in_. The intruder squeezed their body into an air duct. _It's tight. Then again, it's been such a long time since I last been in here_. The intruder made their way down into the control room. No sooner had the intruder touched down then the Lyoko symbol appeared on the main screen and the supercomputer started to boot up. _Nice try, Xana, _the intruder thought_. But you're dealing with an old pro at this_. The intruder slid down until the table masked him from the screen and Xana's eye. The intruder reached into a backpack and took out a laptop. Hooking it up to the internal circuitry hidden behind a panel in the wall, several files and programs were uploaded to the supercomputer. _There. Now I can access Lyoko from anywhere. And soon, those foreign elements will be eliminated.

* * *

_

The next morning, Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita went up to Jeremie, who was busy typing on his laptop.

"So, genius, what miracle are you working on today?" Odd asked.

"I'm working on a program that would block anyone from entering the towers. Hopefully, the Invaders won't be able to launch any more attacks on Earth and we'll be able to confide them to Lyoko."

Jeremie's laptop's alarm went off as the Lyoko symbol flashed on the screen.

"Well speak of the devil," Ulrich commented.

"Let's get to the Factory," Yumi said. "We can cut through the Boiler Room."

* * *

As they headed into the building, they were unaware that they were being watched by the intruder.

* * *

The kids headed down the steps and through the hole into the sewers. They rode their personal vehicles to the factory. As they entered the elevator, Odd looked down at the ground. Something seemed strange about it. 

"Hey Odd, is something wrong?" Aelita asked.

"Um... no, it's probably nothing." Odd joined the others in the elevator. The elevator dropped Jeremie off at the control room before completing its descent to the scanner room.

"It's situated in the forest region, twenty-five degrees north of a tower," Jeremie reported. "You all ready to go?"

"Ready," everyone replied.

"Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Yumi. Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Yumi. Virtualization!"

One by one, the four were virtualized and appeared in their avatar forms in the forest region. The tower that Jeremie was talking about could be seen in the distance.

Standing between them and it were a group of Skeletons. Jeremie uploaded their weapons and the battle began.

The battle was proceeding well for the Lyoko Team. That is, until Odd's tail started pulling in a certain direction. "Guys, something dangerous is approaching!" No sooner had Odd announced it than a spinning red wheel cut through the trees and almost all of them in the process.

"Jeremie, what was that?" Aelita asked.

"Oh no, it's back!"

"What's back?" Ulrich questioned.

"Oh, he must mean that spinning red wheel thing that trapped us all in Lyoko last time," Odd reminded them.

"Oh great," Yumi moaned. "I don't want to be trapped in Lyoko again."

"Not to worry guys," Jeremie assured them. Xana and I had set up a secondary and tertiary network to route the excess data. It should prevent you guys from a system freeze."

"Here it comes again!" Odd warned. The spinning fire wheel attacked them all again. The Skeletons tried destroying it with their acid mist but it didn't work.

"Look over there!" Yumi pointed to the horizon where a silhouette stood. The figure raised its arm and the flaming wheel came to it.

Except it wasn't exactly a wheel, but what appeared to be two axes stuck together, or perhaps it was an axe handle with an extra blade.

"Listen to me words and listen well," the figure said. His voice seemed digitized but somehow strangely familiar. "All of ye are trespassing here. Log out now or suffer the consequences."

"Hold on," Yumi said. "Just who died and made you Lord of Lyoko?"

"Bad choice of words," the figure muttered as his features became visible. The figure was male in shape. He wore a red cloak and his face was masked in total blackness. He wore a red shirt and blue pants. The shirt had a large white diamond on the center with the Lyoko symbol in the center of that. "I've been with Lyoko since the beginning."

"Liar!" Aelita snapped. "Xana and I have been with Lyoko from the beginning and I don't know about him but I've never seen you before!"

"Ye, of all people, should know the truth," the mysterious character said startling Aelita. "Unless... I see. I was afraid of this."

_Why... why is he acting as if he knows me_? Aelita thought.

The mysterious attacker turned to Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd. "As for the rest of ye. Log out of Lyoko and never log back in or else."

"You can't tell us what to do," Ulrich said crossing his swords. "We're the only ones who stand a chance against the Invaders!"

"Ye are just as much invaders as the others and I will see that every single one of ye will pay the price. Razor Axe!" The axe became a spinning wheel of energy again and swirled towards Yumi.

"Mystic Aura... deflect!" Yumi extended her aura to counter the wheel but it was proving more than a match for it. Ulrich threw Yumi down as the aura gave way. Fortunately, the weapon passed over them and continued towards Odd and Aelita.

"Laser crescent!" The weapon cut through Odd's attack like it wasn't even there.

"Energy wave!"

"Demi Force!" The phantom cried. The entire area vibrated as the energy wave was sent right back at Ulrich.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Ulrich screamed as he was ejected from Lyoko.

"Ulrich! Jeremie, quick, log us out!"

"Demi Force!"

"Log out Yumi! Log out Odd! Log out Aelita!" The three disappeared just before the shockwave hit.

* * *

All three were ejected from the scanners at the same time. They fell on the ground. 

"Is everyone all right?" Yumi called out.

"I'm fine," Aelita reported.

"Ow, I haven't felt this sore since Jim made us run a mile around the track," Odd cracked.

Yumi looked around. "Where's Ulrich?" _Oh God, don't tell me we lost him again_!

"Hey guys, Ulrich's up here with me," Jeremie called. The three remaining kids piled into the freight elevator and rode back up to the control room. Once they got there, they saw Ulrich leaning against a wall nursing an arm.

"Hey Ulrich, are you all right?" Yumi asked.

"I'm not sure, look." Ulrich rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt to reveal a red scratch. "This was on me when I came out."

"That's impossible! There's no way injuries sustained in Lyoko can carry over onto Earth," Aelita argued.

"That's just what I was thinking," Jeremie replied from the control panel. Somehow, not only did that strange attack deplete Ulrich of all his lifepoints, but the attack was so severe that it caused his body to think it was wounded to the point where it actually was wounded.

"He called it Demi Force," Yumi said sitting by Ulrich. "That was a strong attack."

"And that weapon was more than a match for Yumi's aura," Odd pointed out as he leaned against the central table. "The guy would have to have skills better than Jeremie's if he was able to hack himself such incredible powers."

"Odd, you might be on to something." Jeremie turned to Aelita. "Aelita, can you remember anything about your creators? Or about anyone who has used the virtualization system besides us?"

"No, Jeremie, as far as I can remember, you're the first from the outside world to visit Lyoko."

"Jeremie, were you able to track the hacker's data stream?"

"No, whoever he is, he's logging from a remote omnilink."

"So what do we do now?" Yumi asked.

"Not much we can do. But it looks like the Invaders are quiet for now. Xana's sending out some scouts to watch just in case."

"In the mean time," Ulrich said, "We need to get back to class."

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

As the kids left the Factory, they were unaware that somebody was watching them. _If they were to find out the truth, a lot of people could get in trouble. _The person turned and headed back to the school.

* * *

"You're late," Jim said as Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita came into the library. 

"Sorry, Jim," they apologized.

"Well, at least it was only two minutes late this time and not the usual ten minutes. Just take your seats and start studying."

The team took up a spot at a table near a corner. "So, any ideas on who the new guy on the block is?" Odd asked.

"He said that he has been with Lyoko since the beginning," Jeremie said. "I wonder what he meant by that."

"Maybe he's a creation of Xana that got loose," Yumi suggested.

"I suppose it could be possible," Jeremie said. "Creating creatures definitely is a trademark of Xana."

"Yes, but why would Xana do such a thing?" Ulrich asked. "And why would he make it human?"

"Maybe Xana isn't the nice computer thingie we thought he was," Odd replied.

"Don't forget, Xana's actions are fueled by logic," Aelita reminded them. "Granted it's a twisted logic, but it's still logic. It would make no sense to create an avatar to send against us when he needs us to beat the Invaders."

"You've been sticking up for Xana a lot lately, Aelita," Odd said.

"Odd," Jeremie scolded.

"I'm just saying…"

"No, I understand, Odd, sorry, I probably should…"

"No, don't be sorry, Aelita," Yumi said. "You're right, such a move wouldn't make sense for Xana considering he has an army of monsters he could send after us. And like Ulrich said, Xana wouldn't make his creation human-like. So, now what do we do?"

"Ach, blimey machine!" Everyone turned to see Miss O'Connor pounding a laptop computer. "I thought I got the bloody thing fixed."

Jeremie went up and walked over to her. "Miss O'Connor, is something wrong?"

"Oh, Jeremie, could 'ye help me? This dag-blasted computer blinked out on me again, I keep losing me work."

"Okay, let's see," Jeremie said as he pressed a few keys. "Ah, I see the problem. Here..." Jeremie pressed a few buttons before and a chart appeared on the screen. "There you go."

"How d' ye do that?"

"It's actually quite simple, you never lost your work, Miss O'Connor, the hard drive always automatically saves a program after a certain period of use. You probably lost some data but just save often and you'll rarely, if not never, get the problem again."

"Thank 'ye, Jeremie, to tell 'ye the truth, I'm not a very big fan o' computers."

"Just glad I could help, Miss O'Connor." Jeremie returned to his seat.

"Jeremie, did you hear the way Miss O'Connor talked?"

"So?"

"So, she talks exactly like the new avatar. What if she's the mysterious player?"

"But why would she do something like that?" Aelita asked.

"Think about it, if she really hates computers, why's she typing like a professional?" Everyone stole a peek at Miss O'Connor and saw her fingers flying almost inhumanly over the keyboard.

Yumi gave Odd a sly smile, "You're just upset that she's engaged."

"Me, upset, hah," Odd laughed.

"Odd, be quiet or take it outside," Jim ordered.

Quieter, Odd said, "Okay, maybe I am a little jealous, but come on, just listen to the way she talks, it's just like the new player."

"Hate to say it, but Odd has a point," Ulrich said. "Why would someone who hates computers be using one in the first place?"

"Okay, assuming it was her, why would she do something like try to eliminate us?"

Nobody had an answer for that.

"You're late!" Everyone turned to see Jim in his classic Jim stance, staring at Will who had just come in. "And just where the heck were you?"

"I got lost," Will said curtly. "Don't jump down my throat."

"You need to learn some respect, young man."

"I treat those who treat me with respect."

"Just take your seat, wise guy." Jeremie and the others watched as Will took a seat at a separate table, took out a notebook and pen and began writing in it.

"Twenty bucks says that he was with his secret girlfriend," Odd snickered. Yumi bopped him in the arm.

* * *

In Lyoko, the leader of the Invaders appeared near a tower on a peninsula in the forest region. He waved his hand and covered the tower in black smoke. The tower became an Obelisk and a maze formed around it. 

The ground underneath the leader shook. It turned and saw Xana along with several of his monsters appear ready for battle. The leader looked amused. It raised a hand and several Blow Fish and Skeletons appeared. The battle began. Xana immediately attacked the leader with his spear. The leader grabbed the spear and disintegrated it. Xana actually looked surprised. He turned into black smoke and tried infecting the leader. The leader sparkled with electricity and threw Xana back. His monsters hovered over him to protect him. The Blow Fish charged forward and destroyed Xana's fleet of Hornets. The Skeletons battled the Crabs and won. Xana's Mega Tank rolled in front of Xana, opened itself up and fired and intense blast that destroyed the Invader monsters.

The tank's blast didn't even faze the leader of the Invaders.

The Invader let out a chuckling sound and went towards the labyrinth gate. No sooner had it entered then the gate shut.

* * *

Aelita was trying to do her homework but Xana sent her an instant message. 

DESIGNATE INVADERS SPOTTED IN LYOKO.

Aelita typed back, WHERE?

FOREST REGION: 44 DEGREES NORTH, 79 DEGREES WEST. TOWER TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE, PREPARE FOR INVASION.

Aelita typed, I UNDERSTAND, I'LL TELL THE OTHERS. She closed the instant message screen and turned to leave. No sooner had she opened the door then she bumped into Jeremie. "Jeremie, the Invaders…"

"I know, Xana just contacted me through my cell phone. I bet the others also have received the message. Come on, let's go to the factory." The two of them joined Ulrich and Odd by the manhole cover.

"Yumi's on her way," Ulrich reported.

"Then let's get a move on." The four of them descended into the sewers and rode over to the factory. Jeremie went to the lab while the others went down to the scanners. Jeremie began inputting the commands. "Transfer Ulrich, transfer Odd, transfer Aelita. Scanner Ulrich, scanner Odd, scanner Aelita. Virtualization!"

The four appeared in front of Xana and the Obelisk. "Well, looks like somebody's making himself at home," Odd said referring to the Obelisk. The gate to the labyrinth opened. "Gee, you get the feeling they want us to come in?"

Xana sent Jeremie a message. "Guys, Xana says their leader is inside that thing."

"Ooh, the Big Cohune," Odd said. "Well, far be it for us to keep him… or her… or it… waiting."

* * *

Yumi appeared in the freight elevator. "I'm here, what's the situation?" 

"Typical," Jeremie explained. "Invaders transform Tower into Obelisk. Except this time, the Invader that destroyed Xana's tower is inside."

"Right, I'll be right down."

"Guys, Yumi's on her way," Jeremie reported. "I'll upload your weapons now. Proceed to the center of the labyrinth but stay on your guard. The leader's in there, who knows what else. Oh, and one more thing…"

* * *

"We know, we know, watch out for traps," Ulrich, Aelita, and Odd said. 

"At least I know you guys have been listening. Okay, upload: Twin Kitanas, upload: Wrist Claws, upload: Lyoko Wand!" Their weapons appeared and they entered the labyrinth.

They've been walking for a while before Odd said, "Hey guys, I just had a crazy idea."

"No surprise there," Ulrich cracked.

"Seriously, what if that mysterious player is part of the Invaders?"

"I suppose it's possible," Aelita said checking down a side passage. "But why would it destroy its own allies?"

"To gain our trust," Odd guessed.

"That's probably it," Ulrich agreed. "We're here." They arrived at the center of the labyrinth. Up ahead was the entrance to the Obelisk. "I don't get it, why aren't there any monsters here?"

"Their leader is here," Aelita said. "He's probably so strong he doesn't need any bodyguards."

"No offense, Aelita, but I hope you're wrong." The three warriors walked into the Obelisk.

The inside was vastly different from the Obelisks they've encountered in the past. There was no arena or monsters, just a spiraling staircase leading down.

"What's going on, guys?" Jeremie asked. "Are you inside the Obelisk yet?"

"We are," Ulrich confirmed. "But there's a staircase leading down."

"Seems like the takeover of the tower has been complete," Jeremie figured. "Be careful." Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita carefully descended the stairs.

* * *

Yumi appeared in front of the Obelisk next to Xana. "The others are in there?" He asked. Xana's emblem glowed once, most likely an affirmative gesture. "Okay, I'm going in." She ran inside. 

Xana heard new footsteps and turned to see the mysterious player. He got ready for a fight.

"Relax, Xana," the mysterious player said. "My grudge isn't with you. Those kids won't have a chance against Leader-1. I have to distract him long enough for them to log out." The mysterious player ran inside.

* * *

"How far do these stairs go?" Odd wondered. "My feet are killing me." 

"Why don't you jump down so we can find out," Ulrich said sarcastically.

"No thanks, my feet aren't that sore."

"There it is," Aelita said. "The bottom!"

The bottom of the stairs revealed nothing but a dark tunnel. Ulrich instructed them to hold hands as they journeyed through the tunnel.

* * *

"I just lost them!" Jeremie cried. "Yumi, hurry up and catch up to them!"

* * *

The tunnel finally ended in a large dimly-lit throne room. Pillars lined up to a large stone throne. The purple humanoid Invader sat on the throne, staring at them." 

"Great, now we got a grape-flavored ghoulie with a god complex," Odd cracked.

"I don't think this is the time to be insulting, Odd," Aelita said.

Ulrich stepped forward to face the Invader. "Who are you, what do you want?" He asked.

The Invader got up and held out his hand. A strange circle formed in his hand. In it, the warriors of Lyoko saw fire consuming buildings, Invaders running amuck, destroying everything and everyone who gets in their way.

"Destruction, oblivion, and devastation," Odd said. "Yeah, we heard that song before. Too bad it won't work!" He charged forward.

"Odd, wait!" Ulrich called.

* * *

Jeremie's screen showed that Odd was going into battle but as to who he was fighting, all Jeremie could see was question marks. 

"Laser Crescent!" Odd's energy arch struck the leader of the Invaders head-on.

It had no affect.

"It didn't work!" Aelita realized.

"When in doubt, try again," Odd said. "Crescent Barrage!" Odd shot a bunch of laser crescents at the Invader. All of them struck dead-on but had no affect. "Aw man, what's the deal? Hey Jeremie, any ideas?" No answer. "Jeremie? Hello, Lyoko to Jeremie!"

"Jeremie," Aelita called. Silence answered her.

"If he's not responding to you, Aelita, something must be wrong," Odd said. The purple Invader got up and transformed his arm into a spear. The spear shot out and blew a hole through Odd. Odd disappeared.

"Odd!" Ulrich and Aelita cried.

"Ulrich, be careful," Aelita said. "He's not like the others."

"I figured," Ulrich said

* * *

Odd shot out of his scanner so fast that he hit the other end.

"Oww," he moaned.

"Odd, are you okay?" Jeremie asked as he helped Odd up.

"I've felt better," Odd groaned.

"What happened in there? You guys completely disappeared from my tracking screen."

"The leader was down in the basement of the Obelisk," Odd explained. "He blew me away in one shot."

"That's impossible you had all your life points!"

"Believe it, Jeremie."

"Oh no, Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich, they're all in danger!"

* * *

Ulrich and Aelita had split up and circled the Invader.

"Gravity Bind!" The throne started to shake and sink. Finally it crumbled. The Invader leapt off and landed at the other side of the room. "No, he broke free!"

"Energy Wave!" Ulrich crossed his swords and released an energy blast directly at the Invader. The Invader took it and sent it right back. Ulrich quickly dodged it. "Our attacks aren't having any effect."

"What do we do?" Aelita asked.

"I… don't know."

The Invader's arm extended and wrapped around Ulrich lifting him into the air. Ulrich felt his ribs being crushed as the Invader tried squeezing the life from him.

"AAAHHH!" Ulrich cried.

"Ulrich!" Ulrich disappeared just like Odd. "Oh no, I'm alone," Aelita realized. "Jeremie! Yumi! Xana! Anybody?" The Invader slowly started to walk towards Aelita.

Yumi let loose a flying kick to the back of the Invader's head. The Invader fell flat on its face. Yumi flipped and landed by Aelita. "Yumi!"

"Don't worry, Princess, help's at hand," Yumi said.

"Be careful, Ulrich and Odd were already devirtualized. He can get you in one attack."

"Then I'll just not have to give it the chance." The Invader got up and charged towards Yumi, transforming its arms into spears and lashing out at Yumi. Yumi leapt onto a pillar and started to pillar hop dodging the attacks. She fired her disk launchers which broke off the spears but it didn't seem to hurt it. "What is this thing made of?"

"I don't know," Aelita said.

Yumi made a gesture with her hand. "Mystic Aura…" A tendril wrapped around Yumi's leg and pulled her down. The Invader leader leapt up and came down at Yumi, crushing her face. Yumi was devirtualized. Once again, Aelita was alone. She was too scared to move.

"Razor Axe!" A burning spinning wheel cut the Invader's head off. It flew into the air but landed perfectly back on its shoulders. The mysterious player plowed into the Invader and tackled it. Without missing a beat, the avatar got up and retrieved his weapon. "Aelita, you must leave here now!"

"But how? That thing is blocking the exit."

"I'm sorry, but you are too important to Lyoko to risk having you destroyed. Demi Force!" The attack struck Aelita and she was devirtualized. The mysterious avatar turned towards the Invader. "Get this straight, peon, I won't let you harm her again! I may have stood by once before, but I won't this time. This time, I won't let his twisted game keep her from learning the truth. Razor Axe!" The avatar threw his weapon which sliced the Invader in two. Before the Invader could pull back together, the avatar ran through him, grabbed the axe, and ran upstairs. Once outside, the weapon was thrown again, blowing holes through walls all the way to the outside. The avatar ran through the holes and away from the Obelisk.

* * *

Everyone turned to see the door to Aelita's scanner opening. Jeremie prepared to intercept Aelita's body. Just like the others, Aelita was thrown out head first. Jeremie got in front of her but they only ended up butting heads, more specifically their mouths.

The semi-intimate movement was quickly forgotten as the two both crashed into the wall and fell to the ground.

"Jeremie, thank you for catching me," Aelita said.

"Uh… n… no problem, Aelita… um… can I get up?"

"Oh, sorry." The two got up.

"So Jello-Man got you too, huh?" Yumi asked.

"No, it was that mysterious player."

"I knew it," Odd said. "He's part of the Invaders."

"No, Odd, I don't think he is," Aelita said. "Before he used his attack to devirtualize me, he said, 'you are too important to Lyoko to risk having you destroyed.'"

"That was weird," Ulrich commented. "It was like that avatar knew who you were."

"But… I've never seen him before."

"You mean her," Odd corrected.

"Odd, this time, the avatar didn't sound like Miss O'Connor."

"But if it wasn't Miss O'Connor, then who was it?"

"Guys," Ulrich said. "I think our problems just got a whole lot harder to solve."

End.

* * *

Somebody recognizes the name 'Lyoko.' Who is it and why does this person make Aelita nervous? 


	13. Secrets of the Factory

I'm told that there's a new season of Code: Lyoko currently on the air. Unfortunately, my schedule prevents me from watching any of it.

Code: Lyoko

Secrets of the Factory

Last time on Code: Lyoko. A new avatar appeared intent on destroying everybody except Aelita and Xana, saying they were contaminating Lyoko. The gang wondered who this new person was and put forth some strange theories including the theory that it was Miss O'Connor, the young teacher. The leader of the Invaders took over a tower and when the gang tried to stop it, it defeated them all in one attack until only Aelita was left. The mysterious player forced Aelita out of Lyoko, apparently to protect her.

* * *

"Okay, everybody," Jim called. "The busses are ready to be boarded. So everyone start boarding." Jim started head-counting as the students boarded the charter busses. 

"I'm so excited," Aelita said almost jumping up and down. "I've never been so far away from L… home before."

"Relax, Aelita, we're only going into town," Odd said.

"Don't forget, this isn't a pleasure trip," Jim reminded them, Jeremie, and Ulrich. "You're supposed to be at the new technology exhibit at the museum. Mrs. Hertz wants you to take down lots of notes and prepare a report on it when you return."

"This'll be easy," Aelita boasted. "I was born in technology."

Jim looked at her weird.

"She means, uh… she's was born for technology," Jeremie explained quickly.

"Well, whatever. Hey, where's Ishiyama?"

"Late as usual," Sissi said. "Maybe she just doesn't care about this school."

"No, just don't care about you," Yumi retorted appearing behind Sissi.

"Why you runt…"

"Just board the bus, all of you," Jim ordered.

On the way, Aelita noticed that Jeremie was staring intently at his sneakers. He seemed nervous about something. "Jeremie, is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no, Aelita, everything's fine." But truthfully, Jeremie was thinking back to what happened the other day, his and Aelita's first kiss. Well, perhaps he shouldn't be calling it a kiss, more of an accidental kiss, but… Jeremie deep down had always imagined that moment, but he hadn't went through what might happen afterwards. Aelita was still new to the ways of humans so she probably didn't realize the intimacy or the awkwardness of what happened when she was forcibly ejected from the scanner. _Why should I feel embarrassed? _Jeremie wondered. _I mean it's only Aelita so its okay, she still thinks very highly of me, so I shouldn't be worried… should I?_

"We're here," Jim announced. The group piled out.

The National Technology Museum was spectacular. The history and mechanics of computers and digital technology was displayed in lifelike diorama displays. Ulrich pointed out a model of a heavyset man on the couch and whispered something into Yumi's ear. The two burst into almost hysterical laughter.

Jeremie was busy taking notes and Aelita was still trying to take it all in. "Jeremie, look!" She grabbed Jeremie's hand and pointed to a newsroom setup.

"It's great, Aelita," Jeremie said trying to humor her.

"Wow, some of this stuff I've never seen before," Aelita said. She looked at the mock-up of a TV Studio's control booth. "The Super Computer looks like this, do you think it functions the same way?"

"Well… kind of, I'll show you how it works later."

Odd ran over, "Guys, you gotta come see this."

"Odd, we already saw the robot dog," Ulrich said rolling his eyes.

"Not that, something else." He grabbed Ulrich's and Jeremie's hands and pulled them over to a display on the other side of the newsroom setup. Bewildered, Yumi and Aelita followed.

Everyone gasped! They were staring at a small-scale diorama of the factory!

"The factory, but how does anybody know about this?" Yumi asked.

Ulrich read the plaque near the display. "The Aramiya Development Factory or ADF was once the premium center for development of advanced visual display technology. However, an accident six years ago that took a life has left the factory little more than a warehouse. Speculation has risen among the scientific community that an experimental virtual technology was in the works but no evidence of such work was ever discovered."

Jeremie turned to Aelita and said excitedly, "Aelita, do you realize what this means? We might be able to find out more about your origins."

"My… origins?" Aelita mimicked nervously.

"Yeah, like where you came from or who your creator was. We might even find a key on how to get rid of the Invaders."

Something about this was making Aelita nervous, a fact that Odd noticed.

_I want to find out about my origins, _Aelita thought. _But why am I so nervous, like I don't want to know? Could this be a side-effect of becoming human?_

The kids took a break at a café next door. A few homeless people wandered the street holding cardboard signs looking for work. "The more I think about this, the more I'm certain the key to stopping the Invaders lies somewhere inside the Factory," Jeremie said.

"We could stay after and ask some questions to the curator," Ulrich offered.

"Yeah, like Jim would just let us wander around the museum," Yumi said sarcastically.

"He would if I asked."

"But Jeremie, if the Invaders attack," Yumi began.

"Not to worry, guys, someone else here knows how to activate the scanners." All eyes fell on Aelita.

"That's right," Aelita confirmed. "Jeremie showed me how to do the virtualizing process."

"So there will always be someone on hand in case we need to go to Lyoko."

"Lyoko, did you say Lyoko?" Everyone gasped and turned to see one of the homeless people walking up to them. The homeless guy got down and stared at Aelita.

Aelita gulped. Ulrich and Yumi got ready to intervene. "By any chance are you related to Amon Lyoko?" The homeless person asked.

"S… sorry," Aelita stammered. "I… I don't know who you're talking about."

"Too bad," the homeless guy said stroking his five day old stubble. "You remind me so much of Amon's little girl. She was about your age when she died. Tragic that, poor guy was never the same." The homeless guy turned and walked away.

"Did you guys see that?" Yumi asked as the homeless man turned a corner. "That guy recognized the name Lyoko."

"He also mentioned an 'Amon' guy." Odd turned to Aelita. "What do you think, Aelita, ring a bell?"

Aelita stared at the table and shook her head. "No, sorry."

"This makes it all the more imperative that we find out how Lyoko came about," Jeremie said. "I'll stay and find out what I can with the curator."

"I'll stay with you for backup," Ulrich volunteered.

"Fine, the rest of us will scope out the factory when we get back."

At a nearby table, Sissi humph and got up.

* * *

As the homeless man walked down the street, he heard a strange yet at the same time familiar voice, "It is her." 

The homeless man turned to the newcomer. "Well I'll be darned, you definitely grown some over the years. So does that mean…?"

"Yup, it worked after all."

"Hot diggity dog," the homeless man said laughing. Then he realized something, "But what about…"

"They've broken free."

"So even in death his greed lives on."

"I don't think its death, Mister Vernard."

"If that's the case, then you will…"

"I already am…"

The man chuckled, "A product of your parents, you definitely are."

"Yeah, and so is she."

Jeremie ran up to Jim. "Jim, this place is so cool," he said excitedly. "Can I stay an extra hour?"

"Why would you want to stay an extra hour?" Jim asked suspiciously.

"For extra credit, I'm a big fan of computers so something like this is right up my alley."

"What do you take me for, some kind of idiot?" Jim asked. Jeremie didn't respond to that. "There's no way I'm going to let you wander this museum unchecked."

"He won't be unchecked," Ulrich said. "I'll be watching him."

"Yeah, but who'll be watching you?" Jim retorted.

"Please, Jim, you wouldn't want to hamper our education, would you?" Jeremie asked.

"All right, but I'm staying to keep an eye on you two," Jim said decisively.

"I'll stay too," Sissi volunteered. "I wouldn't mind getting a little extra credit myself." She fluttered her eyelashes at Ulrich. Ulrich gave Jeremie a pained look. Jeremie responded wordlessly but his look was that of empathy.

"I better call the principal and tell him about the change of plans," Jim said. As he started to dial the school, he told the three, "Listen, we will only stay here an extra hour, and only an extra hour. After that hour past, we're leaving whether any of you like it or not, got it?"

"Got it, Jim," the three said.

The field trip ended. As Yumi climbed back onto the bus, she noticed Sissi staying behind along with Ulrich and Jeremie. She started to take a step back but Odd and Aelita pulled her to a seat.

"Yumi, relax," Odd said. "Sissi wouldn't try anything, especially not with Jim there."

"But she…"

"You know plainly well Ulrich hates her guts. There's not a snowball's chance of anything happening."

Sissi gave Yumi a smug smile and wave. Yumi pounded the arm rest of her seat.

* * *

Once back at school, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita headed for the Factory. Instead of heading down to the lab, they looked around the upper levels. "You know, in some strange way, it feels like I'm looking at the Factory for the first time," Odd commented. 

"Most of the times when we came here in the past, Xana was attacking and we didn't have too much time to look around," Yumi said. "But now, let's see what we can find." The three split up and explored the assembly line, control room, and the storage plant. They then went down to the basement but all they saw was old machinery and furnaces.

"Nothing," Odd grumbled after ten minutes of searching. "I guess they cleaned everything out when they closed this place down."

"It's strange," Yumi mused. "I kind of expect Xana to start attacking any minute now."

"Force of habit," Odd said nodding. "We've spent so much time on the run and attacking that I guess we forgot to just stop and smell the roses."

Yumi gave him an off-side smile, "Why Odd, I never realized you were so philosophical."

"Hey, I'm a man of many habits."

"No argument here."

"Yeah… uh… wait a second."

Yumi burst into laughter.

"Yumi, Odd," Aelita called. "Come quickly. The two joined the former resident of Lyoko in a side hallway. She was staring at a long dark staircase leading up. "Look what I found."

"Jackpot," Odd said. He felt around for a light switch but found none. "Hope neither of you ladies is scared of the dark." The three crept up the steps.

* * *

The door to the curator's office opened and a boy stuck his face in. "Excuse me, sir, do you have a minute?" 

"Of course, young man, what can I do for you?"

"My name is Jeremie, I just wanted to ask you a few questions about one of your exhibits."

"Certainly, come in." Jeremie entered and Curator Mandova saw that he wasn't alone. Two other kids and a burly man were with him.

"I wanted to ask you about your ADF exhibit."

"Ah, the old Factory. Yes, that was one of my more… interesting exhibits."

"Yes, well, I was wondering how you found out about this Factory."

"The Aramiya Development Factory is one of the oldest buildings in town. The government was ready to tear it down but a community activist group convinced them that it should be left up as a symbol of the past."

"What did it do?"

"Well, it produced mainly circuitry components. But they were producing some unusual stuff."

"Like?" Ulrich asked.

"Sorry, I'm not sure."

"Well how did you find out all this?"

The Curator's eyebrow twitched. "One of the members of the community action group was part of my staff. He found a journal and what I just told you was what he was able to read."

"Where's the journal now?" Jeremie asked, his heart beginning to accelerate.

The Curator took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I don't know; now if you please excuse me, I have a meeting to tend to." Ulrich sensed that he was trying to get them out of his office for a reason but this was the Curator's territory so he had the home-field advantage. The group left.

"Seemed like you stepped on somebody's toes, Jeremie," Sissi said.

"It was worth it," Jeremie said scribbling some notes in his notebook. _It might be possible that this journal still exists, it might even be at the Factory! I need to get over there and…_

"All right, you've kids spent enough time putsing around, time to get all of you back to school," Jim said.

Ulrich was about to protest when Jeremie stopped him. His nod was all Ulrich needed to see.

* * *

The second floor of the Factory was nothing but a dingy hallway with six doors on each side and one at the end. Yumi and Odd each took a side and began looking in. Aelita huddled back by the stairs. For some reason, she was getting scared, very scared, frightened is more like it. 

"These must've been where the offices were," Yumi said looking in on an abandoned lounge.

"Maybe we'll find out more in here," Odd said.

Aelita could actually hear her heart beating. The beating got louder and louder as Odd and Yumi approached the room at the end of the hall. They finally reached it. Odd reached over to open the door.

"NO, STOP!" Aelita cried crouching into a ball and covering her head with her hands.

"Aelita, are you all right?" Yumi asked.

"Scared… I'm scared, Yumi! I don't know why, I'm just scared!"

"Perhaps we should get her back downstairs," Odd said as the two helped Aelita back to the fore chamber by the freight elevator.

"I'm sorry, guys, I don't know what came over me," Aelita said. "It was like an overwhelming sense of fear and anguish. I haven't felt such terror before, not even when I was being attacked by Xana."

"That's strange," Odd said. "Aelita had never been to the factory before Jeremie materialized her, right?"

"I'm not sure that's the case, Odd," Yumi said.

"I'm sorry," Aelita apologized.

"Don't be, it's actually a big clue in to figuring out what the secret of the Factory is," Yumi said.

The Lyoko symbol flashed on Yumi's and Odd's cell phones. "Duty calls," Yumi said. Aelita actually seemed relieved to head down to the lab. Once down there, she sat in Jeremie's seat with Yumi and Odd surrounding her.

"Okay, it looks like the Invaders have transformed another tower into an Obelisk."

"Just for clarity's sake, this is a different one than the one where we were all ejected?" Odd asked.

"Yes, this one's in the desert region. You two head down to the scanners. I'll monitor things here until Jeremie and Ulrich return."

"Hopefully, this'll be an easy one and we won't need their help," Odd said. Yumi gave him a sour look. "I'm just saying I don't want all four of us to be ejected like last time."

"But what about shutting down the tower?"

"I already contacted Xana," Aelita said. "He'll meet you there and will be ready to proceed once the Obelisk has transformed back into the Tower.

"Sure, he did it once before," Odd recalled.

"Okay, let's go." Yumi and Odd ran down to the scanners as Aelita began putting in the codes.

"Transfer Yumi, transfer Odd… scanner Yumi, scanner Odd… virtualization!"

Yumi and Odd appeared on either side of Xana who was staring at the Obelisk.

Yumi shivered, "Bad memories," she muttered.

"Huh?"

"This is the tower that we went to while Ulrich and I were fighting."

"And now the Invaders have transformed it into an Obelisk," Odd said finishing Yumi's thought. "Talk about adding insult to injury."

"Let's just get this over with."

"Upload: Disk Launchers, upload: Wrist Claws." Their weapons appeared. "Okay, you're all set. Be careful."

"Thanks, Aelita." Yumi and Odd took a peek inside the labyrinth surrounding the Obelisk.

The path was straight, leading directly to the center.

"No way it can be this easy," Odd said as the two stepped forward into the labyrinth. No sooner had he said that then the walls started to shake. "That'll teach me to keep my big mouth shut."

"Aelita, what's going on?"

"Oh no!" Aelita cried. "The labyrinth's shape is changing." A wall sprung up between Yumi and Odd.

"Laser Crescent!" Odd tried blasting the wall down but it didn't work.

"Looks like we'll just have to get to the center on our own," Odd said. "See you there, Yumi!"

"Not if I see you first." The two took off heading in opposite directions.

* * *

_Why did the Invaders do that? _Aelita wondered. _Are they trying to separate us? That can't be the case, if they did that, why would… hmmm…_

"Hey Aelita, Odd called. Do you think the Invaders are trying to lead us out of the labyrinth?"

"I don't… think so," Aelita said slowly. "They must be trying to trap you. Oh no! The maze is shifting again!"

* * *

Sure enough, new walls were appearing and old walls were disappearing. Odd saw a path form straight to the entrance. He made a mad dash for it but a wall risen up in front of him at the last minute. Odd skidded to a halt and pondered it for a minute. "Of course, why didn't I think of it before?" He dug his claws into the wall and climbed up the wall using it. Once on top of the labyrinth, he could see Yumi but more importantly, he could see the entrance. He leapt off and entered the Obelisk. "I'm in, Aelita." 

"Be careful, Odd, who knows what's waiting inside."

Odd took a look around. It looked pretty empty. For a second, Odd wondered if the Invaders had decided not to put a mega monster in this one. He then dismissed that as wishful thinking.

Suddenly a giant Blow Fish appeared. Odd stared at it, "So you're my dance partner, huh? Okay, then, let's dance!"

* * *

A pre-battle screen came on the side monitor: Odd vs. Big Blow.

* * *

Odd leapt up, bounced off the wall of the Obelisk and launched an attack at it. "Crescent Barrage!" The series of laser crescents struck the giant Blow Fish dead on but didn't have any noticeable effect on it. "Oh come on, just once I'd like to have one of my attacks work," he whined. Several smaller Blow Fish appeared around the bigger one and launched towards Odd. Odd was barely able to dodge all of them. 

"Hurry, Yumi, Odd's in trouble," Aelita reported.

"I'm on it," Yumi said as she made a gesture with her fingers. "Mystic Aura… levitate!" Yumi floated over the labyrinth to the entrance of the Obelisk. "Phew, wonder why I didn't think of this before?"

"Because doing it cost you all your energy," Aelita explained. "Any further use of your aura will deplete your life points."

"Ah, that's why." Yumi ran inside just in time to see the Big Blow summon a team of smaller Blow Fish and launch them straight at Odd. Yumi fired her bladed disks and was able to destroy most of them. The rest Odd was able to dodge. "Thanks, Yumi."

"No problem," Yumi replied. Her disks returned to her and she fired them again at the Big Blow. The disks cut the giant fish on the side but it only got angrier. It summoned some more Blow Fish.

"Every time we attack that thing, it sends its babies to deep-fry us," Odd said. "Wait a second that gives me an idea." Odd bounced along the walls of the Obelisk until it landed directly on top of the Big Blow. The smaller Blow Fish made a beeline directly for Odd. At the last second, Odd flipped off of the Big Blow. The Blow Fish struck its parent causing it to cry out in pain. "Yumi, lead the Blow Fish back, we can use them as ammo."

"Good idea, Odd." Yumi used some stunning acrobatics and landed in front of the Big Blow. The Blow Fish dove towards her. Inches before they were able to struck, Yumi dropped into a split causing the Blow Fish to strike the Big Blow.

* * *

"It's losing life points," Aelita reported. "Keep it up, you two." 

"Did we miss anything?" It was Jeremie and Ulrich who were able to ditch Sissy and Jim and come to the Factory.

"You guys wouldn't believe what we found," Ulrich commented.

"Tell us later," Aelita said quickly. "Right now, Yumi and Odd are fighting a giant Blow Fish inside a transformed tower. They finally figured out a way to defeat it but time is now against us."

"Looks like you did pretty well sitting in that chair," Jeremie commented.

"I'm only using what you taught me, Jeremie."

Jeremie blushed at that comment.

* * *

Yumi and Odd each launched an attack at the Big Blow. The Big Blow, in return, fired a bunch of Blow Fish at them. The two Lyoko warriors spun and dodged and once again caused the Blow Fish to attack their parent instead. They kept up this procedure a couple more times. Finally, the Big Blow settled on the ground. It began cracking with electricity. 

"Run," Aelita shouted. "The computer says it's about to…"

Too late, the Big Blow self-destructed taking Yumi and Odd with it.

* * *

The two were heaved from their respective scanners. Yumi pounded on the ground, "We weren't able to revert the Obelisk back to normal." 

"Wait, what about Xana? He's still out there."

* * *

Xana ran inside the Obelisk. The interior had transformed back into a normal-looking tower. Xana flew to the upper level and input the override command. 

L-Y-O-K-O

Aelita breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Aelita," Jeremie congratulated.

"Thanks, Jeremie."

Jeremie realized that his hand was on Aelita's shoulder. He quickly pulled it away and blushed.

* * *

After the tower shut down, Odd pulled Jeremie off to the side and told him about Aelita's little episode. 

"Things are starting to make sense," Jeremie said. "I have a feeling that Aelita and Lyoko were the secrets being worked on inside the ADF."

"If so, why?" Odd asked.

"I'm not sure, Odd, but I have a feeling that the answer lies in that upper floor."

Unknown to the boys, Aelita was listening in.

* * *

Aelita meets the Phantom Player in battle in Lyoko. As Aelita learns about courage, the Invaders launch an attack. 


	14. Combat

Code: Lyoko

Combat

Abstract: Furious at the mysterious player for imposing his/herself on their mission to stop the Invaders, Aelita issues a challenge. The two fight even as the Invaders take over another Tower and start manipulating the world's computer network.

* * *

Team Lyoko and the Invaders were once again in battle. This time, the Invaders had set up a siege line in the polar region. The Obelisk could be seen in the distance.

"These guys just won't give up," Odd complained as he finished off a Skeleton.

"Yeah, but no matter what, we have to get Aelita to the Obelisk so she can turn it back into a Tower," Yumi said.

"Any ideas how?" Aelita asked. "These Invaders aren't going to make it easy for us, we need help."

Like an angry swarm, a fleet of Hornets and Tentapods descended on the Invader army.

"Look like the cavalry's here," Ulrich said noting Xana appear with two Mega Tanks.

"Come on, guys, this is your chance," Jeremie encouraged. Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita took off towards the Obelisk. The four of them made their way through the labyrinth outlining the Obelisk and into the Obelisk itself. There, a giant three-headed beast faced them.

* * *

The pre-battle screen showed Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, Aelita vs. Cyberus.

* * *

"It looks pretty big," Ulrich said. "Let's move in."

"Sure, move towards the giant three-headed dog with teeth bigger than me," Odd said sarcastically.

"Precisely," Ulrich said. "It's so big that it won't be able to reach us at close range."

"Oh, I get it now." Ulrich drew his two swords and strafed Cyberus' side with them. Odd leapt onto its back and began stabbing it with his claws. Yumi used her bladed disks while Aelita provided defense. No matter how hard Cyberus tried, it couldn't reach around or down enough to get them.

"You're almost there," Jeremie reported. "A couple more hits should… everyone, get away from it now!" When Jeremie shouted, that was a clue that it was dire. Everyone ran away as a spinning fire wheel struck Cyberus and delivered the deathblow. Everyone turned to see the Phantom Player (as they have known to call it).

"Thanks," Ulrich said as Cyberus dissolved.

"Don't thank me, I was actually aiming for all of you," the Phantom Player said.

"What's your problem, man?" Odd asked. In case you're not keeping score, we're the good guys. We're trying to prevent the Invaders from taking over Lyoko and our world too."

"Odd's right, we mean Lyoko no harm."

"It doesn't matter, Aelita and Xana should be the only ones allowed in Lyoko, the rest of you should leave and never come back."

"Says you, geek," Yumi said. "Aelita's our friend and we would never leave her unprotected."

"This is not open to discussion," the Phantom Player said separating his weapon into two axes. "I'll keep knocking you out of Lyoko until you three get a clue."

"Not this time around," Jeremie said. "Return to the past now!"

* * *

Back in time, the gang sat around Ulrich's and Odd's room.

"What is with that guy?" Odd asked as Kiwi laid his head across the boy's leg. "He's acting like we're just as bad as the Invaders."

"When you think about it, in some ways we are like them," Ulrich mused. "Just like them, we're not native to Lyoko, we're… guests, I guess is a polite term."

"Even so, that doesn't give him the right to play bouncer to Lyoko," Yumi argued.

"At least the Tower's deactivated," Jeremie said. "All towers seem to be pretty quiet for now."

"We're still not sure whose side this Phantom Player's on," Ulrich said. "We should probably avoid unnecessary trips to Lyoko until we figure it out."

"Agreed," Jeremie said nodding. "In the mean time, we should try to figure out who created Lyoko and why?"

"I'd say our main clue is that room at the end of the hall on the second floor," Odd said. "Yumi and I were about to explore it before the Invaders attacked."

Aelita lowered her head in shame. _The only reason they weren't able to explore the room the first time was because I panicked at the last second. I still don't see why, I never been in that room before, so I really have no reason to panic… am I losing my mind? Have I outlived my usefulness?_

"Hey Aelita, you okay?" Jeremie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Aelita said with a weak smile.

The door burst open startling Kiwi and making the dog run underneath Odd's bed. Jim stood in the doorway. "Ah-ha, staying in your rooms during the day time is off-limits!"

"Jim, do you mind, we're kind of having a serious discussion," Odd said.

"Yeah, 'kind of' being the key word here. Well never mind, the Principal wants to see everyone in the gymnasium pronto!"

* * *

The students lined up like soldiers while the Principal stood behind a podium. "Everyone, I have some somber news," he began.

"Uh-oh, this isn't good," Odd whispered.

"The school's computer network has come under attack by a hacker. School records are trashed and out of order, and important business files are missing. The only way they could end up in this predicament is if they were hacked."

A low murmur rose among the students.

"Until this hacker is found, I must confiscate all computers and laptops." The students burst into protest. "Now, now, I'm sorry it has to come to this, but it's for the safety of your equipment as well as the school's equipment. Don't worry, once we repaired the mainframe and catch whoever hacked the school's computer files, everything will be returned to you and I promise that the school will keep all your equipment safe."

"This isn't good," Jeremie whispered to the others as the students disbanded. "Without my computer, I won't be able to check to see if the Invaders are attacking."

"Relax, Jeremie, I'll use my computer," Yumi volunteered. "Because I'm a day student and don't live in the dorms, I don't have to hand over my computer." She gave them a sly smile. "Unless they have a search warrant."

"Thanks, Yumi," Jeremie said.

* * *

Aelita was lying on her bed. Jim had already confiscated her computer. So without her computer, there was nothing she could do from the dorms.

But Aelita had more important things on her mind. That room in the Factory that scared her. It also intrigued her because she didn't know why it frightened her. Fear was one aspect that she could never understand. Sure, she could understand being afraid of something that would be harmful, but to be afraid of such mundane things like a room, especially a room she never been in before, it almost seemed ridiculous. Since she didn't have a computer, she would have to do it the old fashion way.

Aelita left her room but unfortunately, she caught Jim's eye.

"Hold it right there, Ms. Lyoko, where are you going?"

"L… Lib… Library," Aelita stuttered.

"Oh, well I'm coming along to keep an eye on you."

"What about the other kids' computers?"

"There are other faculty members here, they can handle it." Jim crossed his arms in defiance.

* * *

Aelita surprised Jim by going directly to the library. There, he watched her as she picked up books on psychology and dreams. She plopped herself down at a table and began opening the books.

Aelita learned a lot in that hour she was at the library. One of the books said that fears sometime manifest from a painful experience of the past. But that didn't make any sense she had always been a part of Lyoko, hasn't she?

Shutting the book, Aelita opened another one. This one had methods on how to conquer fears. She read three books on the subject and they all had one recommendation in common: that the person confronts the fear head-on.

Aelita recalled the Phantom Player's cryptic words to her when he first appeared.

_"Ye, of all people, should know the truth unless... I see. I was afraid of this."_

_What is the truth? Could it be that there was someone else in Lyoko all this time, someone who hasn't revealed themselves until recently? _The more Aelita thought about it, the more she felt that the key to conquering this lied in that room. No matter how scared she was, she would have to go into that room.

She stood and said, "I'll do it."

Jim, who had been sleeping in a chair, was wakened with a shock. "Huh, what, what'll you do?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Jim."

Jim looked outside and noticed that the sun was setting. "Come on, you need to get back to your room now. You can continue reading in study hall tomorrow."

_But this might be my only chance to overcome my fear. I have to get to the Factory now._

Jim escorted Aelita out of the library and back to the dorms. Aelita sat in her room with the lights off until she was sure Jim was out of sight. She then snuck out and over to the Factory. She crept up the steps to the second floor and stared at the door at the other end of the hall. "Okay, let's just take this nice and slow," she said. She decided to explore the other rooms first. As she went down the hallway, she began to feel her heart beat faster and faster. She was panting half-way down, but sucked it up and moved on. Finally, she left the lounge, the room next to the mystery room. By now her heart was practically jumping into her throat. As she reached for the brass door knob, her hand started shaking wildly.

A floorboard creaked.

Aelita screamed and ran back down the stairs. She didn't stop until she was safely in the lab. "That was stupid of me," Aelita scolded herself. "It's just a room, a room I've never been in before, I need to suck it up and move on as Jim would say." She collapsed into the computer chair. "Who am I kidding, I was scared senseless and I don't even know why!" She turned towards the supercomputer and booted it up. She contacted Xana then scanned Lyoko. Except for the Obelisk that the purple Invader occupied, all the Towers were pretty quiet.

As it should be.

Aelita was about to close down when the sensors picked up movement in Lyoko's forest region. It was giving off the same signature that Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd would give off when they were in avatar form. But according to the computer logs, they haven't been used since their jump back in time yesterday (or rather tomorrow). That meant it could only be one person.

The Phantom Player.

Aelita began to feel an emotion she had felt before. It was after Xana took control of Yumi and made her attack Ulrich. Aelita felt such anger towards the sentient computer virus that she challenged Xana outright to a fight to the finish. Of course, that fight was interrupted by the Invaders. Aelita felt that anger again. She contacted Xana again and asked him to upload her into Lyoko. Xana agreed and began to upload her avatar into Lyoko. Aelita herself went down to the scanner and was virtualized.

Once in Lyoko, she explored until she found the Phantom Player looking over a deactivated Tower.

"This one's dormant too," he said to himself. "Better move on to the next one." As the Phantom Player turned, Aelita stepped out from behind a tree. "What are you doing here?"

"For so long I've been alone," Aelita said scowling at the hooded figure. "The only interaction I had experienced was with Xana and that wasn't exactly friendly."

"What's your point?"

"Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Jeremie are the first to ever show me kindness. They talked to me and shared stories and memories, and basically treated me like an equal. And they have saved Lyoko many times. I can't count the number of times I've been in their debt."

"Again I ask, what's your point?"

"They have every right to be in Lyoko because they have saved it and me. And now you come along and suddenly decide who should stay in Lyoko and who should leave." Aelita's weapon was uploaded to her by Xana. "I want you to leave Lyoko and never come back."

"And who are you to decide who stays and who goes?"

"I am one of Lyoko's guardians and my friends and I are trying to save both worlds from a terrible threat. And if fighting is the only way to make you see the truth, then so be it!"

"That's a nice statement coming from you among anyone," the Phantom Player retorted.

She held out her staff. "I challenge you to a fight. The winner will stay in Lyoko and the loser shall never come back."

"This is pointless," the Phantom Player said. "But if you're insistent about fighting me…" He drew one of his hatchets. "Then I'll be happy to oblige." The two got ready to fight.

Unknown to them, Xana was watching from a tree.

Aelita made the first charge, swinging her staff at the Phantom Player who dodged it and countered with an attack from his hatchet. Aelita was able to block it.

"Just like the good old days," the Phantom Player said.

"What does that mean?" Aelita asked as the two backed up.

"Oh, if you only knew."

"Stop talking in riddles!" Aelita attacked again. The Phantom Player parried the attack and returned it. This duel kept going on for a few minutes until the Phantom Player was able to force Aelita back. He crossed his hatchets. Aelita felt a shiver crawl up her back, she realized he was about to use his Demi Force attack. She forced the shiver of fear back down. _I can't be scared any more, _she thought. _I've faced plenty of dangers over time, and I've always emerged safe. He may be strong, but I will not be afraid any more!

* * *

_

Jeremie was sound asleep when his cell phone started beeping. Groaning, he looked at it and saw the flashing Lyoko symbol. He shot up and dressed in under a minute.

He ran through the boiler room where he was joined by Ulrich and Odd.

"What's the deal, Big-J?" Odd asked yawning.

"I'm not sure, but I fear the worst." The boys rode their vehicles to the Factory. When they got there, they were surprised to see the computer had already booted up.

"How sweet, Xana already prepped the scanners for us," Odd said.

"I don't think it was Xana," Jeremie said and he donned the earpiece microphone. "Ah-ha, just as I thought."

"Huh?"

"Aelita's character has already been uploaded."

"Let's get down there and join her," Ulrich suggested.

"Right."

* * *

The Phantom Player drew a second hatchet and started batting Aelita's staff with it. Aelita grunted with each attack. She knew she was losing life points. She didn't have anyone to tell her how many life points she had left so she had to switch to long-range attacks. She jumped back. "Gravity Bind!" The area around the Phantom Player started to implode. The Phantom Player crouched down and grunted from pain. He crossed his hatchets.

"Demi Force!"

Aelita gasped knowing there was no way to stop this attack. She released her Gravity Bind spell and ran to the nearest tree leaping from branch to branch. It was her hope that the blast would pass under her.

It did.

_Maybe I was wrong to challenge him. He can devirtualize all of us with one attack. What can I do?_

"Aelita, can you hear me?"

"Jeremie, what are you doing at the control panel?"

"Xana sent me a signal on my cell phone, mind telling me what's going on?"

"Me and the Phantom Player are fighting."

"What? Aelita, are you nuts?"

"I'm sorry, Jeremie, I thought I could talk some sense into him but he's dead set about making sure Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd don't come back to Lyoko."

"I see, well don't worry about it, Odd and Ulrich are already on their way."

Aelita looked in the distance and saw a Tower transform into an Obelisk. "Oh no!"

* * *

All over the world, computer systems started crashing. Traffic lights went haywire, ATMs were spewing money like it was Doomsday; the global stock market began dropping faster than a rock.

At the school, the Headmaster was up late trying to rebuild his hard drive when his computer crashed. "Not again," he moaned. "Sometimes I wonder if having these things is worth the hassle."

* * *

"Jeremie, the Invaders have transformed another Tower." Silence was all she got in reply. "Jeremie? Jeremie, answer me!"

"You shouldn't take your eyes away from your opponent!" The Phantom Player scolded leaping up in front of her. "Razor Axe!" Aelita flipped over the combined spinning hatchets and landed on the ground.

"I'm sorry, but we'll have to finish this fight another day," she said. "There's an Obelisk in the distance."

"You should finish what you started," the Phantom Player advised.

"Who are you, my father?"

The Phantom Player just chuckled.

* * *

Aelita met Ulrich and Odd (with weapons) at the entrance to the labyrinth.

"Looks like you got here early," Odd joked.

"Yeah, I had some free time so I thought I would fight the Phantom Player," Aelita said in an equally kidding tone.

"I hope that bum gets what he deserves."

"Let's go, you two," Ulrich said. The three journeyed through the maze.

"Guys, I can't contact Jeremie," Aelita said.

"Jeremie, can you hear us?" Ulrich asked. He didn't receive an answer. "I hope everything's all right."

* * *

"What the heck is going on?" Jeremie asked nobody in particular. His screens were flashing useless data on the screen until it broke into vertical lines. "Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, can you hear me? Oh no, how can I help them if I can't even reach them?"

* * *

"I bet the Invaders are causing this," Ulrich said. "Once we return the Tower to normal, Jeremie can jump back into the past and we'll be all right."

"I hope so," Aelita said.

Two Skeletons and two Blow Fish appeared. "We don't have time for Bone Brains and Fish Face," Odd said. "Crescent Barrage!" The continuing attacks of laser crescents quickly destroyed them. "Let's move!" Another Skeleton appeared. "Oh come on, we don't have time for these guys."

"Odd, take care of it," Ulrich commanded. "Aelita and I will enter the Obelisk."

"You got it, Boss," Odd said as he attacked the Skeleton with his claws.

* * *

Aelita and Ulrich entered the Obelisk. A Polar Claw stood at the center. "Oh no, not this one again."

"Last time, it took both Yumi and I to beat it," Ulrich said. "Energy Wave!" The Polar Claw turned to its side and took the blast. It then roared and fired a freeze blast and froze Ulrich.

"Ulrich!"

"Aelita, run," Ulrich struggled to say.

Aelita looked from Ulrich to the Polar Claw. A determined frown appeared on her face. "I can't run any more, I can't be afraid." She twirled her staff and charged the Polar Claw. The Polar Claw swung its claw but Aelita, having learned her lesson from last time, jumped onto it and fired an energy blast directly at the Polar Claw's head. The Polar Claw reeled from it. Aelita leapt off and touched her staff to the ground. "Digital Void!" The ground opened up underneath it. The Polar Claw struggled to hold on. Aelita touched her wand to the wall and two stone pillars shot out and smashed the Polar Claw between them. The Polar Claw let go and as the pillars disappeared, the Polar Claw fell in. "I did it!" She turned towards Ulrich but found that he had been freed from the ice.

"Nice job, Aelita. Now go input the code so Jeremie can return to the past."

"Right."

"Not so fast." Ulrich and Aelita turned to see the Phantom Player poised for battle. "This just proves my point. Those three don't belong in Lyoko. The monsters can devastate them in one attack."

"Aelita, input the code," Ulrich instructed.

"Right."

"I'll admit that freeze attack took me by surprise, but all I want to do is protect Lyoko."

"You want to unplug it, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"I see that look in your eye. There were others with that look. They all wanted to unplug Lyoko but Lyoko must thrive."

"Look, that was the plan at first, but now we're concentrating on just protecting it."

"Liar!" The Phantom Player charged Ulrich. Ulrich blocked the Phantom Player's attack with his swords.

Aelita landed on the upper platform. The center screen appeared and Aelita logged in.

AELITA

"I'll destroy your character forever!" The Phantom Player declared. "That will keep you from coming back to Lyoko!"

CODE

L-Y-O-K-O

The Tower returned to normal.

The Phantom Player's hatchets started to glow an abnormal maroon color. "Mega Demi…"

"Return to the past now!"

"Oh crap," the Phantom Player moaned.

* * *

"Until this hacker is found, I must confiscate all computers and laptops." The students burst into protest. "Now, now, I'm sorry it has to come to this, but it's for the safety of your equipment as well as the school's equipment. Don't worry, once we repaired the mainframe and catch whoever hacked the school's computer files, everything will be returned to you and I promise that the school will keep all your equipment safe."

"This isn't good," Jeremie whispered to the others as the students disbanded. "Without my computer, I won't be able to check to see if the Invaders are attacking."

"Relax, Jeremie, I'll use my computer," Yumi volunteered. "Because I'm a day student and don't live in the dorms, I don't have to hand over my computer." She gave them a sly smile. "Unless they have a search warrant."

"Thanks, Yumi," Jeremie said.

Ulrich gasped, "Wait a second!"

"What's wrong?" Yumi asked.

"We've gone back in time but the principal is still confiscating our computers!"

"Since we shut down the Tower, this shouldn't have been happening," Yumi said beginning to catch on.

"That could mean only one thing," Jeremie said. "That the school's computers' being hacked was not part of the Invaders' plan."

"But then who?" Jeremie shook his head.

"Hey, where's Aelita?" Odd asked.

"Oh, she said she had to take care of something," Jeremie said. When Odd asked for a clarification, Jeremie just shrugged.

* * *

Aelita stood before the door that was giving her so much fear and grief. She was still feeling it but she didn't feel freaked by every little sound any more. She drew upon the courage of Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi and the wisdom of Jeremie to guide her through this trial.

She placed her hand on the brass door knob. Savoring its cool feel for a moment, Aelita gave the knob a turn and opened it.

* * *

Aelita explores the mysterious room and finds a clue to the secret of Lyoko, and her own past. Ulrich saves a life but for some reason, that makes Yumi jealous. 


	15. Self Discovery

Code: Lyoko

Self-Discovery

Aelita stood before the door that was giving her so much fear and grief. She was still feeling it but she didn't feel freaked by every little sound any more. She drew upon the courage of Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi and the wisdom of Jeremie to guide her through this trial.

She placed her hand on the brass door knob. Savoring its cool feel for a moment, Aelita gave the knob a turn and opened it.

The room was old and dusty. The only light could be seen through the dirty window at the other side of the door. In the center was a wooden desk and rotating chair. The walls were all bookcases. Books were strewn about.

The room smelled like smoke.

"Looks like some kind of office or study," Aelita guessed. "Seems like it was burned." Aelita opened up one of the books and saw that her theory was correct. The pages were charred far beyond being readable. She went over to the desk and saw a piece of a nameplate. The letters 'AMO' were on it. She recalled what the homeless man said at the Technology Museum.

_"By any chance are you related to Amon Lyoko?"_

"This must've been Amon Lyoko's office!" Aelita gasped. She also recalled what else the homeless man said.

_"Too bad, you remind me so much ofAmon's little girl. She was about your age when she died."_

_Am… am I… no, I can't be, I'm a computer generated creation of Lyoko. I have never been human before Jeremie materialized me… have I? _Aelita sat in the chair and spun in it a couple of times. She noticed a worn blue book with a cloth cover on the desk. She opened it and saw that most of the pages have been torn out. Most of the remaining pages were blank, but the first page she came to after the torn pages had writing on it.

_I must find some way to bring her back, no matter the costs. It's what Maggie would've wanted._

Shocked, Aelita dropped the journal as her head started pounding.

_"What's that?"_

_"It's my journal."_

_"Can I read it?"_

_"Go ahead and try, but I should warn you, some of the words are pretty big."_

_"'The fu… fun… funda… the something of the flow of time… pr…pro…"_

_"I warned you."_

Aelita staggered back "Who am I?" She asked nobody in particular.

* * *

As Jeremie and the others walked out of the school building, Odd asked, "Is it just me or has Aelita been acting strange lately?"

"I noticed it too," Yumi agreed.

"Maybe it has something to do with that homeless guy at the Museum the other day," Ulrich offered.

"Yeah, he recognized the name Lyoko. He must know something," Jeremie said.

"And I have a feeling the Curator knows more than he let us on," Ulrich added. "He said that one of his employees found it, but what if he was the one who found it and he's just using that as a cover story."

"But why?" Yumi asked.

"That's the only thing that's preventing my theory from being right."

Herb came running down the street and almost collided into Odd and Jeremie.

"Where's the fire?" Odd asked.

"Some creep almost tried to run me over!" Herb replied. "I was lucky to get over here."

"Someone tried to run you over?" Jim asked as he came over with Sissi and Nicholas.

"Yeah, and I think he might still be in the area."

"Point out the car, I'll get his license plate and we can have him arrested."

"Let's go watch," Odd said.

"Hold on, you kids are staying here," Jim said.

"No way," Sissi said. "If a member of my group is attacked, I take it personally," Sissi said firmly.

Jim sighed, "The principal's going to fire me for this. All right, let's go."

Everyone headed around the corner and down two blocks. "This is the street I almost got ran over on."

"What are the chances that the same guy would be in the area?" Ulrich asked.

"Given the populous of the city, I'd say about 640,000 to 1."

"Those are pretty crummy chances," Nicholas said.

"There he is!" Everyone turned to see a red sports car with a white stripe down the middle swerving as it came down the street, at times going onto the sidewalk.

"Wow, who would've thought."

"Everyone, get back," Jim instructed. "It's dangerous."

Ulrich tried extrapolating the car's path to see if it would hit them but it was too erratic. He did see a dark-skinned girl walking across the street, unaware that the car was rapidly approaching. _That girl doesn't see the car, she'll get run over!_ Before anyone could stop him, he was running across the street. "Get out of the way!" He shouted. The girl turned and saw the car. Caught like a dear in headlights, she screamed.

Ulrich tackled her and sent both of them to the side of the road.

"ULRICH!"

As the car turned (more like twirled) around a corner, Jim and the kids could see that both Ulrich and the girl were all right, lying on the other side of the road.

"Ulrich, are you all right?" Jeremie asked.

Ulrich gave them a lop-sided smile. "Looks like all those sprints you made us do during soccer practice paid off, Jim."

"Yeah, but I'd never thought you'd be using them to save a life."

"What about the girl, is she okay?" Odd asked.

Ulrich helped the girl to her feet. Jeremie saw that she was shaking and her brown eyes were frozen. "She's in shock," he told Jim. "Jim, maybe we should take her to the Infirmary at the school."

Jim paused for a moment before replying, "Yeah, that might be our best choice for now." Jim took off his jacket, wrapped the girl in it, and carried her back to school.

"Wow, Ulrich, that was so brave of you," Sissi said. "Of course I always knew you were brave."

"Crazy is more like it," Odd said.

"Oh don't listen to those boneheads, Ulrich-dear; I think you were just fantastic."

Yumi's mouth turned in a frown.

* * *

"This is very serious, Jim," the principal said. "That driver is a hazard to everyone. Did you get the license plate number?"

"Sorry, sir, all I could get from it is the model. Looks American-made though."

"I see. And the girl?"

"Emily says she's sleeping now."

"With our computers down, we can't look up her information. Keep her here until she wakes up, we'll ask her who she is then."

* * *

Odd was the only animated one at dinner. Yumi was mixing her peas and mashed potatoes. Jeremie was staring out the window. Ulrich was just staring off into space. There was no sign of Aelita.

"What is this, dinner or a funeral," Odd cracked. "Hey, Ulrich, what about that girl, how is she?"

"We won't find out anything until she wakes up," Ulrich said.

"I hope nothing bad has happened to Aelita," Jeremie said.

"Aelita has been no-show almost all day," Odd said. He leaned over and whispered, "You don't think it's the Invaders do you?"

"Xana is monitoring Lyoko, he would send us a message if he sees her." Finally, Odd fell silent.

Yumi looked at Ulrich. She knew he was thinking about the mystery girl whose life he saved. Don't get her wrong, Yumi was glad Ulrich saved her life and was glad that he was safe too. But still, Ulrich definitely seemed worried about her. In a way, Yumi was jealous. Ulrich would sacrifice his self to save the life of a stranger. Would he do the same for her?

* * *

Aelita, at that moment, was heading back to the dorms from the Factory. As she walked across the Courtyard, she was spotted by Jim.

"Hey, Aelita, you should be in dinner."

Aelita stared at the man. She looked like she's seen a ghost. "I'm sorry, Jim, but I'm not feeling well. Can I go back to the dorms?"

"All right, but you won't be able to get anything to eat until tomorrow."

"That's fine," Aelita said. "I'm not hungry."

Aelita returned to her room. Once inside, she collapsed on her bed. "I don't know who I am any more," she complained. She took out the last written page in the book. "'I need to find a way to bring her back, no matter the cost. It's what Maggie would've wanted.'" Aelita shook her head, "Get a grip, Aelita, you're one step closer to figure out who created you. You can't afford to start questioning yourself now." She read the passage again and then carefully folded it. Perhaps if she kept it around, she would have more of those flashes of memories.

* * *

The next day was Saturday, the weekend. Some of the dorm-bound students go home for the weekend. Those that could not or chose to not were to remain on school grounds but they could go wherever they wanted. Odd and Ulrich, however, were perfectly placid staying in their room and playing cards.

There was a knock on their door. Odd went to answer it. Jim was on the other side with the girl whom Ulrich saved.

"Hey, you're awake," Odd said to the girl.

"This is Maggie," Jim introduced. "She has something to say to Ulrich."

"Thank you for rescuing me," she said with her eyes on the floor. "I owe you my life."

"Hey, it's no problem," Ulrich replied.

"Yeah, we're used to saving…" Ulrich elbowed Odd silencing him.

Maggie turned to Jim, "Is it okay if we walk outside."

"I suppose," Jim replied. "But I'll be nearby, so don't try anything."

Odd snickered.

* * *

Aelita was walking across the courtyard, having gotten next to no sleep last night. The phrase on the journal kept appearing in her mind. She knew she would not get any rest until she figured out how Lyoko and she came about.

"Thank you again for rescuing me."

"I was just lucky."

"It's Ulrich," Aelita realized. She looked over her bench and saw Ulrich walking with some strange girl. "But who's that with him, it's not Yumi."

"Are you a student here?" Ulrich asked.

"No, I go to public school. I was surprised when I found out I was saved by boarding school students. I mean I thought… well…"

"You thought that boarding schools students were all obsessive unsocial computer nerds?"

"Sorry, I don't mean to insult you."

"Don't worry about it, some of us are like that but most of us are just normal kids."

"I see that now. Look, Ulrich, I can't thank you enough for saving my life. You put your life at risk to save mine. I am in your debt."

"Hey, it's okay. I would've done the same thing for anyone."

"My Father always says that life and soul go hand-in-hand. Saving a life is the same as looking into the other person's soul."

"Wow, is your father a philosopher or something?"

"No, he's retired now. He used to work for the ADF."

Ulrich jumped as did Aelita. "The Aramiya Development Factory?"

"Yes, do you know it?"

_Boy, do I! _Ulrich wanted to say that but remembered when Jeremie showed that transfer student Lyoko and almost got arrested for it. "I've been to the Technology Museum."

"My father said that the ADF was in the business of giving hope to those who have forgotten that it exists."

"That sounds really poetic," Ulrich commented.

"Thank you. I'm serious, Ulrich, I want to repay you for saving my life."

"I'm sure you will some day, Maggie" Ulrich said.

Aelita gasped, _Maggie? She has the same name as the name on the paper. Could it be a coincidence? Or is it something more…? _She decided to make an appearance. "Hi, Ulrich!"

"Hey, Aelita. Oh, Maggie, this is Aelita. Aelita, this is Maggie… um… gee, I don't even know your last name."

"Oh, sorry, it's Maggie Ristar."

"Mine's Aelita L… Lain, Aelita Lain." Ulrich gave Aelita a confused look. Aelita responded wordlessly but her face said she didn't want to give her real last name to someone who worked at the ADF, where Lyoko was situated.

Odd and Jeremie were watching from Jeremie's window. "Looks like they're hitting it off," Jeremie commented.

"This can only end in tears," Odd said shaking his head.

"What are you talking about?"

"What do you think Yumi's going to think when she walks by and sees how snug those two are getting?"

"I see your point."

* * *

On Monday, the kids had study hall in the library. Ulrich was telling them what he learned from Maggie. Jeremie noticed that Aelita seemed more interested in a psychology book.

"Thinking of going into therapy?" Jeremie joked.

"Good idea, Jeremie," Aelita said equally joking.

"Seriously, though, you've been spending lots of time in the library, what are you researching so intently?"

"Uh… well… I just felt like using it for what it was built to be used for."

"It's possible that her father could've had a hand in creating Lyoko," Ulrich was saying. Aelita and Jeremie turned their attention to him. "Maybe we should show her the lab."

"Bad idea, Ulrich," Jeremie said. "Remember when I showed that exchange student whom I thought was Aelita the lab? She told the principal and we were almost shut down. If it wasn't for the time jump kicking in…" Jeremie shook his head. "There's no way to tell if there will be a second performance."

"I agree with Jeremie," Yumi said. "Just because her father worked at the factory doesn't mean he would have knowledge of Lyoko. And even if he did, that doesn't necessarily mean he would pass that knowledge on to her."

Odd looked at Aelita. "What do you think, Aelita?"

"Huh?" Aelita was so into her book that she didn't hear Odd's question at first. "Oh, um… I think… we should try to figure this out by ourselves before bringing others in."

"A very diplomatic response," Jeremie commented.

Ulrich looked down, "Why do we have to keep it a secret?"

"Huh?" The others said together.

"Why can't we tell others what we know; what we can do? Aelita's materialized and I'm sure Jeremie can download Xana if need be. If we tell them and they ask Lyoko to be shut down, won't that be for the best?"

"Hello, have you forgotten the Invaders?" Odd reminded him. "If we unplug Lyoko, they might take their battle here and we can only use our powers and weapons while in Lyoko."

"Or unplugging Lyoko could erase the Invaders forever," Ulrich argued. "Don't you think it's worth the risk?"

"No, Ulrich, Odd's actually right for once," Jeremie said. "Lyoko is the only line of defense between the Invaders and our world. They obviously mean harm so we need to keep them where they can hurt the fewer amounts of people. We can't risk unplugging Lyoko just yet."

Ulrich stood up, "I'm sorry I even brought it up," he said sourly. He turned and walked into the corner.

"If you ask me, Ulrich's just being a big baby," Odd commented.

"Maybe," Aelita said feeling the piece of paper in her shirt pocket. "But I can understand Ulrich's logic. We do need to follow any clues no matter how insignificant they may seem. The slightest clue could lead us to the truth. But we do need to keep the lab a secret for as long as possible."

"Well, now that that's settled, who's for a game of cards?" Odd held out a deck of cards like it was a Grammy. Yumi, Jeremie, and Aelita stared at Odd bewildered. Noting their looks, Odd sat down embarrassed. "Okay, looks like I'm playing Solitaire."

_I know that they're right, _Ulrich thought. _But… the Invaders are getting more powerful with each tower they take over. Xana can't even hold a candle to them without our help. We need some help and right now Maggie may seem like the best choice, she's our only link to the secret of the factory._

Yumi kept watching Ulrich out of the corner of her eye. _He likes her, I just know it.

* * *

_

After dinner that same night, Ulrich slipped away and spotted Maggie. "Maggie, wait up!"

"Oh, hello, Ulrich," she greeted.

"Um… do you have a minute?"

"Sure, but please don't be too long, my parents worry about me a lot."

"Look… I wanted to ask you how much do you know about the ADF?"

Maggie tilted her head like she was studying him for the first time. "Not much, I'm afraid, my father worked as a mechanist there. After the fire, he decided to retire early."

"Wait, there was a fire? I saw the factory and it was still standing."

"Well yeah, my Dad said the fire only happened in one of the offices. It was contained quickly but not before causing some fatalities."

"Who died?"

"I don't know, my Father didn't want to talk about it. I guess it was too painful to recall."

"I see…"

"Ulrich, why the interest?"

"Well…"

Before Ulrich could tell her the truth, Maggie looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh no, I'm late! Sorry, Ulrich, but I have to go!" She turned to leave.

"Maggie, wait," Ulrich called urgently. Maggie turned to look at him. "Meet me here this weekend, and I'll show you why I'm interested."

Maggie blushed, obviously thinking something different than what Ulrich was hinting. "Oh, um… okay." And she turned to leave, Ulrich watching her until she disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Ulrich shows Maggie the lab and that makes the others edgy, and even hostile. When the leader of the Invaders stages a vicious attack against Xana, the Lyoko Team must put their trust into Maggie. 


	16. Casualty Part 1

Code: Lyoko

Casualty Part 1

Aelita discovered an abandoned journal inside an office. The journal gave reference to someone named Maggie and the writer said that she must be brought back no matter the cost. Meanwhile, Ulrich saved the life of a girl who, perhaps coincidentally or perhaps not, was named Maggie. And this Maggie's father just happened to work at the ADF, the Factory where the scanners and supercomputer that serve as a connection to Lyoko. The gang debated whether or not to reveal the lab to Maggie which ended with everyone not wanting to take the risk. Everyone except Ulrich.

* * *

Ulrich stopped at the entrance to the old Factory. He turned and looked at his new companion, Maggie Ristar. "Has your Dad ever brought you here?"

"A couple of times but I was very little and don't remember as much." Maggie seemed nervous to approach it. "Are… are you sure we won't get in trouble?"

"Worse case scenario: I get a month's worth of detention. You probably won't be in as much trouble."

"Okay." Ulrich led his new friend through the front entrance and down the rope to the freight elevator. "This is how we get to the lab and the scanners." As the two entered the freight elevator, they were unaware that a familiar computer entity was watching them through a camera.

* * *

"'I must find some way to bring her back, no matter the costs. It's what Maggie would've wanted.'" Aelita read the passage over and over, hoping it would trigger some stroke of familiarity. But so far it hasn't been doing anything since her first vision inside the office. Perhaps if she returned to the office, she would have another vision.

Their computers had not been returned to the students so the students were rapidly running out of things to do. Not that it bothered Aelita, she was used to doing next to nothing. When she was a virtual being she had pretty much nothing to do except run from Xana's monsters. When she became human, she thought that a whole new world was opening up for her, but now she was beginning to fall back into old routines.

Aelita jumped as an outlet sparked. A black smoke baring the Lyoko symbol rose from it. "Xana!" The smoke flew around her before disappearing into the cell phone Yumi and Jeremie got for her. Aelita guessed that Xana had activated a tower to reach her, but why didn't he just beep her cell phone like he always did. Why did he choose to make a personal appearance?

A text message came on screen: INTRUDER IN LAB.

"An intruder, who is it?" Aelita asked. Her cell phone rang. Aelita pressed the receive button and heard Ulrich's voice.

"It might be frightening at first, but don't worry, everything will be fine."

"Okay." Aelita gasped again, it was Maggie, the girl who had the same name as the name on her paper. Despite their decision not to tell her, Ulrich decided to go and tell her anyway.

"The others aren't going to like this." Aelita ran to Jeremie's room and pounded on the door. "Jeremie, Jeremie, please open up."

Jeremie opened the door, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Without his computer, he too was without activities. "What's wrong, Aelita?"

"Listen." Aelita pressed the cell phone to Jeremie's ear. Jeremie took it and listened for a bit.

His eyes were wide open, "This isn't good! I'll contact the others; we have to stop him before our secret gets out."

_He said 'him,' _Aelita thought. _How is he going to stop Ulrich? I hope he hasn't decided to harm Ulrich. Maybe he'll just use the time jump to erase her memory.

* * *

_

"And here's the lab," Ulrich said ushering Maggie into the room. Right away, the giant map of Lyoko turned on and the computer booted up. "The whole virtualization process is performed here. Jeremie gives the rest of us back-up support."

"So you use this to battle a computer virus?" Maggie asked.

"That was the original plan, but since these Invaders showed up, we've all been working together, for survival, if nothing else."

Wow, Ulrich, you're one of the bravest guys I know," Maggie commented. "You're willing to jump into danger to save lives."

"Yumi would call it being reckless."

"Yumi… is she your girlfriend?"

Ulrich blushed for a moment and then looked down at the holographic projection table. After a few seconds, he said, "Yeah, I guess she is."

"That's nice," Maggie said also looking down. "I wish I had someone to care about me that way."

"Don't you have friends? What about your family?"

"My family's great, but as for friends… I have none."

"Everyone should have at least one friend," Ulrich said. He turned to her. "Hey, I can be your friend."

"You… want to be my friend? But what about Yumi…?"

"It's okay to have more than one friend, especially when that friend originally had no friends to begin with. Jeremie originally had no friends but then he met Aelita. Now they along with Yumi, Odd, and me are all friends. And we all look out for one another."

"Wow, that's great!"

"So what do you say, want to join our little troupe?"

Maggie smiled, "Yeah."

"Hey, I think this is the first time I seen you smile. It looks good on you."

Her cheeks grew a bit red. "Thank you."

The hum of the freight elevator startled the two of them. They turned to see the door open and Kiwi, Odd's dog, appeared. Kiwi walked around Ulrich and Maggie before barking at Ulrich. "Kiwi? This isn't good," Ulrich said.

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked.

"If Kiwi's here, then the others must've found out that I told you about Lyoko."

"Oh no!"

Ulrich sighed, "Don't be so worried, Maggie, I'm the one who's going to be the blunt of this, not you. Well, might as well get it over with." Ulrich picked up Kiwi and together they rode back up to the Factory.

Ulrich's worst fear was realized as the door to the freight elevator slid open and Yumi, Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita all staring at him. Yumi and Jeremie looked especially upset. Kiwi jumped out of Ulrich's arms and scampered over to Odd.

"How'd you guys know we were here?" Ulrich asked.

"A little birdie told us," Odd said sarcastically motioning to the camera above the doorway.

"Xana," Ulrich moaned slapping his forehead.

"Is Xana the computer virus you were talking about?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah."

Yumi stormed forward and pressed her index finger to his nose, "You told her after we all agreed not to tell anyone!"

"That's right, I did," Ulrich returned swatting her finger away. "The Invaders are growing more powerful each day we're going to need all the help we can get!"

"And Xana, a mysterious player and all kinds of upgrades aren't help?" Jeremie asked sarcastically.

"Don't you remember when Jeremie accidentally revealed our secret to that exchange student? We were almost shut down for good! How do we know she won't do the same thing?" Yumi asked.

"Because she promised me she wouldn't," Ulrich replied.

"That's true," Maggie confirmed. "I promise I won't tell anybody. Besides…" Maggie's head lowered. "Even if I wanted to, there was nobody I could tell it to."

"Maggie doesn't have very many friends," Ulrich revealed. That softened up Odd and Jeremie's faces to those of empathy and surprise respectively.

But Yumi still wasn't convinced, "And you think that just makes it all right to reveal Lyoko to just anyone? Honestly, Ulrich, I thought you were smarter than that." She turned her back to him.

"Calm down, Yumi," Odd said. "Getting mad certainly won't solve things."

_So that's Yumi, _Maggie thought. "Please don't be mad at Ulrich," she pleaded. "He meant well and I do promise to keep what he's shown me a secret." She lowered her head, "I've been keeping secrets my whole life. This is just one more to add to the mix."

"Well it's too late," Yumi said. "Ulrich broke a promise and once a promise is broken, so is trust and trust can not be so easily rebuilt!" She turned and stormed from the Factory. The others turned to follow.

"Wait," Maggie called. Jeremie, Odd, and Aelita turned to face Maggie. "I'll tell you what I already told Ulrich. Six years ago, there was a fire in one of the offices in the ADF. A life was lost. Because of that, the Factory was shut down and all its workers including my father were laid off. My Father had reached retirement age so we were okay but a lot of the workers became homeless. And the owner just vanished. I'm sorry, but I don't know any more details. Does that prove I'm trustful?"

Jeremie smiled, "It's a start," he said.

_If what Maggie said was true, _Aelita thought. _Then the office where I found the journal might be where the fire was held. That might be why I was so afraid of it… but wait, I wasn't in the office… was I? Just one more mystery to add to the equation._

The others left. Maggie stood before Ulrich, "Ulrich, I'm sorry you got in trouble with Yumi."

"Don't apologize, I had it coming."

"Do you… still want to be my friend?"

Ulrich patted her shoulder, "More so than ever, because I probably just lost one friend."

* * *

At lunch the next day, they all sat at their usual table, all except Yumi. When she saw Ulrich, she scowled at him and went to sit by William LeChon.

"Wow, I haven't seen Yumi this upset since… heck, I've NEVER seen Yumi this upset," Odd commented.

"Guys, I'm going to check on Maggie's story about the fire," Jeremie said. "Her story is logical, but I think there was something more to it."

Aelita decided that she couldn't hold it in any longer. "There is something more to it. I was actually in that room."

"No way," Odd said shocked. "That room scared the pants off of you."

"At first, yes, but I overcame my fear and entered. It was an office, and I think I know who it belonged to."

"Who?" The boys asked.

"Amon Lyoko."

"And the mystery heats up," Ulrich said twirling his spoon in his fingers.

"I also found this." Aelita showed Jeremie the paper. "I tore it out of a cloth book."

"A journal no doubt," Jeremie concluded. He looked at it and his eyes widened. "No way!"

"That's why I think there might be a connection between the Maggie on the paper and the Maggie that Ulrich was with."

"Let me see," Odd said taking the paper. "No way, this has to be a coincidence."

"The odds that it is must be bigger than Odd's stomach."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Odd."

"At this moment, we can't risk leaving Lyoko unchecked," Jeremie said. "I'll look into the Maggie angle. You three be ready to dive into Lyoko just in case. With that Phantom Player running around, we'll have to be prepared for anything."

"What about Yumi?" Aelita asked quietly.

Jeremie looked at Ulrich. Ulrich just picked up his tray and returned it to the kitchen. "I'll tell Yumi later," Jeremie said.

* * *

In Lyoko, the leader of the Invaders stood before a Tower. He was poised to transform it when a red spear pierced right through him. Xana descended before him. He held out his hand and the spear returned to him. The Invader formed a spear of its own and the two computerized entities clashed. The battle was fierce and neither party was willing to give up. Suddenly the Invader transformed its hand into a scythe and swung across Xana's symbol cutting its chest. Xana groaned.

* * *

In the real world, Aelita also groaned as she felt a stabbing pain in her stomach. It was so bad that she actually fell onto both knees.

Sissi saw it, "Are you okay?" She asked but her voice didn't sound a bit sincere.

"I'm fine," Aelita replied. "Just a stomach ache." But in her mind, she was thinking, _Xana's in danger._

Aelita got up and ran for the manhole cover.

* * *

"Thank you for walking me home, Ulrich," Maggie said. "It's too nice of you."

"Any time, Maggie, it actually feels good to talk to someone normal for a change."

"But your other friends seem nice."

"They are, but some of the stuff we do is outright abnormal. Like I said, it feels good to talk to someone who has a normal life."

"A normal life," Maggie said with a sad chuckle. She then saw Aelita run for the park. "Ulrich, isn't that Aelita?"

"Hey, you're right." The two ran to catch up to her. "Hey Aelita!"

Aelita looked behind her, "Ulrich, Maggie!"

"What's wrong?"

"Xana's in danger. We have to get to the Factory fast!"

"If Xana dies, then Aelita dies and then we'll be up a creek without a paddle!" The three descended into the sewers. Maggie rode on the back of Aelita's scooter. As soon as they were in the freight elevator, Ulrich said, "Aelita, upload me as quickly as possible."

"But I need to be uploaded too. I'm the only one who can input the code to transform the Obelisk back into a Tower."

"But somebody has to back us up at the terminal," Ulrich said. "I'm calling Jeremie."

"By the time he gets here, Xana could be gone!"

"But both of us need to go!"

"I know, but who will stay behind and monitor us from the terminal?"

"Show me," Maggie volunteered. "Show me how to work it. I'll upload you guys."

"I don't know," Aelita said slowly.

"Aelita, we don't have many options," Ulrich pointed out.

Aelita sighed, "Okay, I'll show you the quick way to upload us into Lyoko. I only hope Jeremie doesn't become mad at me the same way Yumi is mad at Ulrich."

"I'm sorry," Maggie apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Ulrich said. "The problem isn't yours." The three arrived at the Lab. Aelita showed Maggie Jeremie's notebook which contained instructions on how to upload people into Lyoko should he ever become incapacitated for some reason.

Maggie studied the control panel, "That's strange."

"What's wrong?" Ulrich asked from the scanner chamber.

"Nothing, it's just that this operating system is kind of like the one my Dad has on his computer at home."

"Whatever, just start the process," Aelita said.

"Right, sorry," Maggie said. "Transfer Aelita, transfer Ulrich." The scanner doors opened and the two stepped in. "Activating scanner… scanning Ulrich… scanning Aelita. Here we go virtualization!"

* * *

Ulrich and Aelita appeared in the forest region of Lyoko.

"Is everything all right?" Maggie asked. "Did I do a good job?"

"Excellent, Maggie," Ulrich concentrated.

Aelita nodded, "A text book drop as Jeremie would say. Now upload our weapons."

"Right, give me a minute to look it up."

"Don't bother, just repeat the virtualization commands for the weapons," Aelita instructed.

"Right. Okay, upload weapons… oh no, I think I did something wrong!" Maggie was right, the wand appeared in Ulrich's hands and the swords appeared in Aelita's. "I'm sorry, guys, I screwed something up."

"Not a problem," Ulrich said as he and Aelita exchanged weapons. "Other than that, you did pretty well for a first timer."

"Thanks, Ulrich, what do I do now?"

"Just watch the monitor and tell me how many enemies there are."

"Right… uh… I can't tell which mark is the enemy?"

"What colors are they?"

"One is red and the other's… purple I think."

"That isn't good," Aelita said. "That means there's an ultra-powerful Invader battling Xana."

"Be careful, Aelita."

"Right, I…" Aelita gasped and dropped to one knee. "Ulrich, let's hurry."

"Right." The two took off towards the Tower.

* * *

Xana leapt back as the Invader made another attack with its arm scythe. He tried to take control of it but it only burst apart and came back together. The Invader made a double attack with its twin weapons.

"Hold on, Xana," Ulrich called as he and Aelita ran up to him.

"Help is here," Aelita added.

Xana actually looked relieved.

"Energy Wave!"

"Gravity Bind!" The two attacks didn't faze the Invader. "Oh no!"

"Figures it wouldn't work. Let's attack it from all sides." The three split up and surrounded it. As one they moved in to attack but the Invader jumped out of the way and they only ended up attacking each other."

"Maggie, give us a status on how many life points we have left," Ulrich requested.

"Let's see… Ulrich has 85 and Aelita has 70."

"That was stupid of us," Ulrich said. "Maggie, listen, I need you to call Jeremie and tell him what's going on."

"What's Jeremie's phone number?"

"555-6738," Aelita said automatically. Ulrich looked at her shocked. Aelita blushed, "we talk on the phone a lot."

"Figures," Ulrich moaned. "All right, Maggie, make the call."

"Right." Maggie took out her own cell phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Is this Jeremie?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"This is Maggie Ristar, Aelita gave me your number. Ulrich says to tell you that he and Aelita and Xana are battling a purple Invader in Lyoko. They need help."

"The Leader! All right, Maggie, stay where you are. I'll be down in five seconds." The phone line disconnected.

"Five seconds?" Maggie questioned as the hum of the freight elevator began to move. The doors opened and Jeremie ran through. "You weren't kidding."

"I was already in the Factory when you called. May I?"

"Oh, of course." Maggie got up from the chair and Jeremie sat in it. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that Aelita showed me how the virtualization process worked. I know you don't want me to find out any of your secrets…"

"Couldn't be helped," Jeremie said. "But you handled the system very well for a beginner. And besides, I know what it's like to feel like you could do nothing right."

"You can?"

"Ulrich, Aelita, can you hear me?"

"Jeremie, thank goodness you're here," Aelita said.

"Jeremie, are the others on their way?"

"I'm calling them even as we speak," Jeremie said as he contacted Yumi and Odd.

"We need to stall long enough for Yumi and Odd to get here," Ulrich said.

"I have an idea," Aelita said touching her staff to the ground. She closed her eyes and started her song. A rock dome formed over the Leader. Aelita concentrated harder and a second dome covered the first one and then a third dome covered that.

"Good thinking, Aelita, but it cost you almost all your life points."

"I don't think… that will hold him… for very long," Aelita said, panting from having to use her power so much.

"Just so it's long enough," Jeremie said. "Transfer Yumi, transfer Odd." No sooner had he brought up the two avatars, then Yumi and Odd themselves came in.

Yumi immediately noticed Maggie, "What's she doing here?"

"She managed to upload Ulrich and Aelita all by herself," Jeremie explained.

Odd whistled, "Well, I'm impressed."

"Be impressed later; right now get down to the scanners now!" The two headed back to the freight elevator.

"Will they make it there in time?" Maggie asked.

"They have to. Ulrich and Aelita won't be able to hold out forever. Scanner, Yumi… scanner, Odd… virtualization!"

* * *

Yumi and Odd appeared right near the others.

"I'm guessing you guys met our newest program genius," Ulrich said sarcastically.

"Yup, hey maybe it was a good thing you told her after all," Odd said.

Yumi just stepped forward and made a symbol with her fingers. "Mystic Aura… imprison!" The mist surrounded Aelita's stone prison. "That should keep him at bay for a little bit longer."

"Give me a minute and I'll restock Ulrich's and Aelita's life points," Jeremie instructed.

"Ulrich, it's bad enough that you shown her the lab, but now you showed her how the virtualization process works? Has the last jump back in time warped your brain or something?" Yumi asked.

"I'm sorry, Yumi, it's my fault," Aelita said. "There was no time to call Jeremie or set a timer. She actually did well; the only problem we had was that she uploaded our weapons wrongly."

"Have you all flipped your lids? There's no way we can trust our lives completely to a total stranger no matter what she may know!" She turned and started to leave. "Jeremie, log me out, I'm done."

"Uh… Yumi," Ulrich called quietly.

"Not now, Ulrich, I'm still mad at you," Yumi huffed.

"Yumi, this is kind of important."

"Forget it! I'm not talking to…"

"YUMI!" Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie all called out at the same time. Yumi turned in time to see Aelita's stone prison crumble and the Invader leader break free. He shot energy blasts at the mystic prison and quickly dispersed it.

"Oh," Yumi said.

The Invader leader laid his hand on the ground. Purple energy traveled through the ground to the Tower and transformed into an Obelisk. The Obelisk produced a surrounding labyrinth and started shooting green mist into the sky.

"The Invaders are launching an attack," Odd announced.

* * *

"Hold on, guys and I'll try to track its flow… that's strange, the stream seems to be close-range, what could they be…"

Maggie saw something out of the corner of her eye. The table map was sparking. Electricity was dancing from one emitter to another. Her eyes gasped as a spark of electricity lanced out towards Jeremie. "Jeremie, watch out!" She cried pushing him out of the way.

The electric blast hit her instead.

Maggie screamed.

* * *

"Jeremie, what's going on?" Ulrich asked. "Jeremie? Maggie? What's going on back there?"

"Something's not right," Yumi said. "I think it was a set-up."

"Yumi, this conspiracy theory of yours is getting kind of old," Odd said.

* * *

Jeremie got up and dusted himself off, "Maggie, why did you…?" Jeremie turned and saw Maggie on the ground, her body convulsing like she was having a seizure. "Oh no, Maggie!" Jeremie looked over at the table map and realized it was sparking. He quickly donned his earpiece. "Guys, I need to bring you back."

"Why, what's going on?" Odd asked.

"Something happened to Maggie!"

In Lyoko, everyone gasped, but none more so than Ulrich.

* * *

Maggie reveals a terrible secret about her history. With the global computer network once again in turmoil, the Lyoko Team, Xana, and even the Phantom Player must all join forces to return the tower to normal and beat the Mega Monster inside. But doing so will change one of the kids forever. 


	17. Casualty Part 2

Code: Lyoko

Casualty Part 2

Previously on Code: Lyoko, the others were upset that Ulrich decided to show Maggie the lab after they agreed to continue keeping it a secret. Yumi was especially upset at Ulrich for breaking the promise. The leader of the Invaders appeared and Maggie got a crash course in virtualizing. She handled herself quite well for a beginner. But by the time Yumi and Odd arrived to assist Ulrich, Aelita, and Xana, it was too little too late. The tower had turned into an Obelisk and the Invader had launched an attack on the real world. The target of this attack was none other than the supercomputer itself. Maggie was able to save Jeremie but not before taking an electric blast directly.

* * *

Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita quickly exited the scanners. They went up to the control room. Jeremie had Maggie laid out on the side of the room, covered with a blanket he found in a storage closet.

"Jeremie, what happened?" Ulrich asked.

"Maggie took a shock of electricity directly," Jeremie said. "The Invader's attack must be designed to disrupt computer systems and assault anyone in the vicinity. Maggie pushed me out of the way, she saved my life."

Even Yumi was struck speechless by that revelation.

"But it's strange," Jeremie continued. "When I used the supercomputer to analyze the electricity being generated, the shock only registered as 50 volts, hardly enough to cause the seizure I saw Maggie exhibit."

"That's… my fault," Maggie said. The others were not even aware that she was awake.

"Maggie, you have to save your strength," Ulrich said.

"No, you all have a right to know. You see, I too have been keeping some secrets. But… Ulrich considers me his friend… and you are all friends with Ulrich, so… I feel obligated to tell you." She looked up at the ceiling. "My real last name is Rising Star."

"Rising Star, huh? Sounds like a Native American name," Odd commented.

"It is. My grandparents were stationed here during World War II. I was… I had a weak heart ever since I was a baby. The slightest acceleration of heart beat would trigger an epileptic seizure. As such, my parents forbade me to go out alone and home schooled me."

"So you really don't go to public school?" Ulrich asked.

"Yes, and it also explains why I didn't have any friends. One day I decided to defy my parents' wishes and venture out. I thought that as long as I didn't travel far, I would be fine. That was the day Ulrich saved my life."

"But there are medical procedures that can cure this type of ailment," Jeremie pointed out. "Surely your parents…"

"Don't have the money for it," Maggie interrupted. "They thought it would be easier and cheaper if they prevented any exposure to situations that might cause me

"So does your father really work for the ADF?" Aelita asked.

"Yes, he did, that I did not make up. I only wanted to fit in so I made some stuff up and changed some facts about me." She looked away from them. "I'm sorry I kept the truth from you all."

"Considering how you saved my life, I'm willing to forgive you this time," Jeremie said with a smile.

"Yeah, you're part of Team Lyoko now whether anybody likes it or not. And teammates always look out for one another," Odd added.

Yumi got down on one knee, "I'm sorry, Maggie, I was mad at Ulrich but taking it out on you and that was wrong of me. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course… your Ulrich's friend, aren't you?"

Yumi didn't respond to that.

"Please, go save Lyoko, don't worry about me," Maggie said.

"Relax," Odd assured her. "All we have to do is jump back in time and you'll be good as new."

"Go ahead and get down to the scanners," Jeremie instructed. The others nodded and took off.

* * *

The gang was re-virtualized and went to the recently transformed Obelisk.

"Is it just me or has that maze gotten larger than when we left."

"The Invaders are sparing no expenses," Jeremie reported. "Something important is at the center of that Obelisk and they don't want us anywhere near it."

"Let's go," Aelita said. "The sooner we can return that Obelisk to its original form, the better it will be for everyone."

"I'm having trouble pinpointing a direct path," Jeremie said. "You guys will have to split up."

"Cool," Odd commented. "Last one there has to pay for lunch."

"But Odd, you don't have to pay for cafeteria food," Aelita pointed out.

"Meaning that it won't be a problem for me if I lose."

"Odd," the others groaned. They all split up taking different paths. About five minutes into the task, Xana appeared and started his own trek through.

* * *

"I hope it won't take them too long," Jeremie said. "Who knows when the Obelisk will make another attack."

"Jeremie," Maggie called. Jeremie turned towards her. She was panting heavily. "The supercomputer, when you go back in time, does it keep the files made during the mission?"

"Well yeah, it's a supercomputer so of course it retains the same capabilities even through the jump back in time."

"Could you… do me a favor?"

"I'll try."

* * *

Odd used his claws to destroy another Skeleton. "And another one bites the dust."

"I don't get it," Ulrich said as he slashed through a horde of Blow Fish. "Why are they protecting this Obelisk? They never treated the other ones like this."

"They must be beginning to realize that we're a threat," Aelita said. "Yumi, watch out behind you!"

Yumi back-flipped behind an approaching Skeleton and fired her disk launchers destroying it. "Thanks, Aelita." The others looked at Xana who was towards the head beating down a Skeleton. As it turned out, the separate paths each one of them took eventually combined into one. "Looks like the coast is clear!"

"Then let's get to it." Everyone proceeded deeper into the maze.

As they reached a rotunda in the maze, a large bipedal animal descended from the sky. It was glowing green but its skin was rock brown. It had no eyes but a mouth that was in three sections. When it roared, the three sections opened revealing row after row of sharp teeth.

* * *

The pre-battle screen came on: Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, Odd, Xana vs. Kaizer Sauri.

* * *

"Energy Wave!"

"Laser Crescent!" Yumi joined in this three-pronged attack by firing her Disk Launchers. The Kaizer Sauri closed its mouths and took the combined attacks. As the attacks subsided, the monster opened its mouth and gripped Aelita in it, putting pressure on the girl's mid-section. Aelita screamed and Xana collapsed to his knees.

"Aelita!" The other three warriors cried out.

"Let her go, gruesome," Odd said slashing at it with his claws. But no matter how much the kids tried beating it, the Kaizer Sauri wouldn't let go of Aelita and it continued crushing the girl's chest.

"Aelita's down to 40 life points," Jeremie cried. "Somebody do something!"

"Razor Axe!" A burning wheel flew through the air and sliced at the mouth. The monster dropped Aelita to the ground. Aelita dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

The Phantom Player slowly approached them.

"Great, out of the frying pan and into the fire," Odd moaned.

The Phantom Player went up to the Kaizer Sauri It separated its axes and crossed them. "Time to send this dog back to the pound. Mega Demi Flare!" The axes formed an energy cross which struck the Kaizer Sauri. The monster screamed out and collapsed.

"It's weak," Jeremie announced. "Hurry and destroy it before it recovers!"

"Crescent Barrage!"

"Energy Wave!"

Xana and Yumi threw their weapons. All of the attacks struck it dead on and disintegrated the monster.

"Why did they put a Mega Monster in the middle of the maze?" Odd asked.

"They did it to wear down your life points," the Phantom Player explained. "So you won't be strong enough to beat whatever's inside the Obelisk."

"And you would know this how?" Yumi asked suspiciously.

"I'm surprised you didn't see it immediately," the Phantom Player retorted.

"Uh… guys, you can discuss tactics later," Jeremie said. "Right now, we need to shut down that Obelisk."

"Looks like you'll have to wait until later to eliminate us," Odd commented. The Phantom Player went up to Aelita.

"Hold still," he said and laid the flat end of his axe blade on Aelita's shoulder. A blue energy transferred from the axe blade into Aelita. She gasped and stood up.

"I… what happened?" Aelita asked.

"Point to point transfer," the Phantom Player explained. "I transferred some of my life points to you. I only transferred 40 of them."

"But what about…"

"I could survive even on ten life points." Aelita had a feeling that the Phantom Player, whoever he was, was smirking.

"Let's go," Ulrich said. Everyone took off through the maze.

"Hey Jeremie," Ulrich called after a while. "How's Maggie?"

"She's sleeping right now, Ulrich. She was shivering a few minutes ago but now she calmed down."

"That's a relief."

"Don't worry, man," Odd assured him. "Once we go back in time, she'll be right as rain."

"Yeah," Ulrich said though his tone didn't sound convincing.

A ground shaking caught the group by surprise. "Now what?" Aelita asked.

They turned around and saw a giant boulder rolling their way.

"You've got to be kidding me," Odd moaned as they all started running. Up ahead of them, a Skeleton appeared. Xana held up his hand and three hornets flew down. The hornets performed suicide runs but it paid off because they destroyed the Skeleton allowing the others to proceed unchallenged.

"That boulder is going to hound us all the way to the Obelisk," Ulrich said.

"I have an idea," Odd said. "Yumi, can you jack up my powers like you did Ulrich's?"

"Okay," Yumi said uncertainly. "Mystic Aura… empower!"

Odd's claws started to glow. "Drill Claw!" Odd went into a spin and hit the boulder head-on. The two forces were pushing upon each other, neither giving up. Suddenly the boulder started to crack and then shattered. "Oh yeah, I'm the bomb!"

Another boulder came around the corner. "You were saying?" The Phantom Player cracked. They took off running again.

Finally they came to the entrance of the Obelisk. Without even pausing, they ran inside. Everyone turned around expecting to see the boulder but it did not come in after them.

"Well I'm glad that's over," Ulrich said.

"Me too," Yumi agreed.

A low hum came from all around them. "Is it just me or is the Obelisk vibrating?" Aelita asked.

* * *

An emergency transmission came on Jeremie's side screen. "The city's power grid has gone out of control. Everything from traffic lights to ATMs are malfunctioning. The chaos has caused over 1,000 fender benders. All citizens are asked to stay in doors or get out of the street."

"It's started," Jeremie said solemnly. "The Obelisk is causing electrical systems to go haywire. You guys better shut it down quickly before the supercomputer gets damaged and prevents you from returning to Earth!" Electricity danced from the keyboard. Jeremie jumped back.

* * *

"Okay, Aelita, this is your show," Odd said.

"Right." But before Aelita could ascend, a Polar Claw, Rhinorex, Setor, and Cyberus appeared.

"Oh great, we can barely handled them one at a time," Ulrich said. "How can we handle them when they're all here at once?"

But then, something unusual happened. The monsters began to meld into one. The new creation had the body of Polar Claw but the color of Rhinorex and three serpentine heads.

* * *

The pre-battle screen showed: Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Aelita, Xana vs. The Ultimate.

* * *

"Here we go," Ulrich said. He dashed forward and took several swipes with his sword. A green barrier appeared where his swords made marks. "No good, it has some sort of barrier shield on it."

"Can't you use that mega demi thing like you did on the last monster?" Odd asked.

"No, I can only perform the Mega Demi Flare once every time I log in. After that, it won't work."

"Swell." Odd and the Phantom Player each attacked it with their weapons but only ended up hitting up the barrier.

The Ultimate swung one of its heads and knocked both Aelita and Xana into a wall. Yumi and Ulrich jumped out of the way before they could be end up like that.

"It's smart," Jeremie commented. "It knows Aelita and Xana are the keys to returning the Tower to normal."

"Tell us something useful, Jeremie," Ulrich commented

"Okay, the shield seems to be concentrated on stopping one attack, so if you stagger your attacks, you might be able to break through it."

"Sounds like a lousy plan," the Phantom Player commented.

"Well if you have a better one, lay it on us," Odd retorted. The Phantom Player didn't respond.

The Ultimate lifted up Ulrich in its center mouth and began biting down on him.

"Ulrich!" Yumi cried forgetting for a minute that she was mad at him. She watched in horror as Ulrich disappeared. "NO!" Yumi launched into hand-to-hand combat with the Ultimate but only ended up hitting its shield.

Xana leapt up behind it and drove his spear into the shield. Odd noticed it was flickering a little. Jeremie was right, if they all kept attacking it, the shield should eventually break. He leapt up and pushed off from the Ultimate's body onto the wall of the Obelisk, and then pushed off from that so he was now above the Ultimate. "Crescent Barrage!" He launched a series of laser crescents at its top.

"Razor Axe!" The Phantom Player threw his own weapon which tried to cut the shield in front of it.

"Digital Void, Gravity Bind!" Aelita combined her attacks and tried to force it under.

* * *

"Keep it up, guys, you're almost there," Jeremie cheered.

Ulrich appeared in the freight elevator. He went up to Maggie, "How are you?"

She smiled at him, "Okay but… you failed."

He smiled back, "Don't worry, we've been doing this a long time. Someone will eventually beat that thing." He took her hand and gently squeezed it. "You should smile more often."

"I rarely had a reason to smile, but now that I have you and the others for friends, I'm… happy."

Jeremie stared at the two concerned.

* * *

The constant attacks were straining the Ultimate's shield. Finally, it shattered like a mirror.

"Its shield is down," Odd announced. "Okay, guys, let's go in there and win one for Ulrich and Maggie!" He leapt up and slashed at the Ultimate's hide with his claws. The Phantom Player followed with his axes and then Xana attacked with his spear. Aelita formed a column underneath her to raise her above the Ultimate. She then leapt off and used her wand to take a chunk of the pillar and hurl it at the Ultimate. Yumi used her aura to empower her bladed disks and fire them right at the Ultimate. The attacks finally overwhelmed the giant monster and it collapsed dissolving into digital bits.

"Yahoo, score another one for us," Odd cheered.

"I'll take care of the Tower," Aelita said. She levitated herself to the top level and began to input the code.

* * *

As Jeremie got ready to initiate the time jump, Maggie took Ulrich's hand in both of hers. "Ulrich… I'm sorry, good-bye my friend."

"Return to the past now!" The time jump started before Ulrich could ask what Maggie meant.

* * *

"Now I'm really confused," Odd said as they sat around Ulrich's and Odd's room. "Whose side is that Phantom Player on?"

"It seems that he means no harm towards Lyoko," Jeremie commented. "But he's rather insistent about making sure Aelita and Xana are the only two beings in Lyoko, like it was before we all met."

"Well at least all the damage done by the Invader has now been undone," Aelita said.

"But I wonder, do you think the Invaders are doing this for a reason?" Yumi asked.

"Not sure," Ulrich replied. "But they definitely…"

Jim came bursting in through the door causing Odd to slam Kiwi's drawer shut. "Uh… we can explain this, Jim."

Jim just looked at Ulrich and said four words: "Ulrich, principal's office, now."

"Uh-oh, I wonder what I did this time around," Ulrich moaned.

* * *

Jeremie, Aelita, Odd, and Yumi waited outside the principal's office. They haven't heard any yelling so they wondered if Ulrich was really in danger, or if the principal was using the stare into confession tactics he normally uses.

The door opened and the others could hear Ulrich's voice, "So it's okay?"

"Yes, I'll be sending Sissi and Jim too so you'll be well-chaperoned. I'm sorry it had to come to this."

"Thank you, sir," Ulrich said and left.

"Well, what's the damage?" Odd asked.

Ulrich's head was lowered and he looked like he was on the verge of crying. "Guys… Maggie passed away last night."

Everyone gasped. "That can't be," Odd said shaking his head. "We went back in time; she should be good as new."

"You guys remember what she said back at the Factory," Jeremie said. "She's had a bad heart ever since she was a baby. My guess is that it couldn't handle the time jump."

"This is horrible," Aelita said her own eyes tearing up. "I liked her."

"We all did," Yumi said. "Even me to a certain extent."

"The principal's allowing us to attend the funeral along with Jim and Sissi," Ulrich explained. "It's two days from tomorrow."

"I'll let you borrow one of my dresses, Aelita," Yumi said.

"Thank you."

"I wonder if we didn't go back in time, would this still happen?" Odd asked.

"It probably would," Aelita said. "She probably would've died right there in the Factory." She noticed Ulrich's tears. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ulrich, I didn't mean…"

"No, its okay, Aelita, and you're right; it probably wouldn't have made a difference whether or not we went back in time."

"All right, all of you back to your rooms, you still have to attend classes tomorrow," Jim said. But his voice didn't contain its usual harshness. He was probably affected by it too.

As the others left, Jeremie tugged on Ulrich's shirt, "I have something to show you," he said.

* * *

Jeremie took Ulrich to the Factory. "Maggie had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to survive the jump back through time so she had me make this and save it on the supercomputer so that it would survive the time jump." Jeremie brought up a picture of Maggie in the Factory.

She was smiling.

Jeremie printed out the picture and handed it to Ulrich. "She said it's so you would always remember her and be happy."

The tears were now coming full force. Ulrich did his best to wipe them. When he looked up, Jeremie saw a determined look on his friend's face. "Jeremie, can you contact Xana? I need him to do something for me."

* * *

The red sports car with white bar running down the hood and a red stripe in the middle of that sped down the city street. The driver was laughing hysterically and having the time of his life. Suddenly a strange eye symbol appeared on his GPS navigation screen. Seemingly on its own power, the car turned a corner and started to slow down. The driver tried to speed up but the gas pedal wasn't responding. Finally, the car came to a dead stop.

Right in front of the police station.

The driver's side door was yanked open and the driver dragged from it and put in cuffs.

"Is he the one?" He heard a police officer asked.

"Yeah, he matches the description."

"You're under arrest for reckless driving and endangering the public at large."

As it turned out, the driver was an ex-con who was originally sent to prison for, of all things, speeding. The driver later found out that a group of kids told on him. They also said he killed someone but the trial never got any evidence to convict him of that.

* * *

It was a bright and warm day. The church tried to look as homely as possible. But that didn't excuse the fact that there was a funeral taking place that day. A child-sized casket was stationed near the altar.

The service was almost done. Ulrich stood towards the back along with Yumi, Odd, Aelita, Jeremie, Jim, Sissi, and Herb. It was overwhelming for Ulrich because he never really attended a funeral before and especially not the funeral of a good friend.

Yumi was next to him. She patted his hand hoping to offer some comfort but it wasn't enough to catch Ulrich's attention. She hated herself, she thought she was above things like jealousy but she was jealous of Ulrich and Maggie. But in the end, Maggie turned out to be a true friend in every sense of the word, including giving her life to protect the people she cared about. Yumi only hoped that Maggie would forgive her for being so rude.

The service nearing its end, the casket was rolled to the entrance of the church. As it passed by Ulrich, he watched it. _Maggie, you were a true friend, I'll never forget you.

* * *

_

In Ulrich's room on a bulletin board were three photographs. One was of Ulrich along with Yumi, Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita. A second was of Ulrich and Yumi. And the third, the one that flanked the group photo was of a smiling dark-skinned girl with gentle eyes.


End file.
